UFC PRESIDENT DANA White has revealed that the promotion will hold an event in Ireland late next year.
Speaking after last night’s event in Boston, which saw Dublin featherweight Conor McGregor claim victory over Max Holloway via unanimous decision, White confirmed that the UFC will be back in the country for the first time since 2009.
Four years ago, Dublin’s O2 Arena hosted UFC 93 where the headline bout was between Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson. McGregor’s former team-mate Tom Egan also featured but lost out John Hathaway after suffering a first round TKO.
While a date has not yet been set, White said it would be in the third quarter of 2014 and didn’t rule out the possibility of putting McGregor in as the headline fight.
He also praised McGregor’s performance on his second appearance in the Octagon, adding:
“When a guy gets hyped up like that people say ‘oh he’s going to get knocked out’. The big question tonight that I saw people saying was ‘let’s see what happens when this guy gets to the ground’. And he was on the ground tonight, with a bad knee.
He’s definitely well-rounded, he’s tough. He likes to fight and tonight was a big win for him. Max Holloway is no joke. They’re both two up and coming guys and the thing about McGregor is he throws these kicks and punches from angles that other people don’t.
“He’s pretty unique.”
