A THIRD IRISH fighter has been added to the bill for UFC Fight Night 72.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s inaugural event in Scotland will take place at Glasgow’s SSE Hydro Arena on Saturday, 18 July.
With Donegal’s Joseph Duffy and Dubliner Paul Redmond having already been booked to feature, they’ve now been joined on the card by Paddy Holohan, who’s set to square off against Vaughan Lee in a flyweight bout.
Holohan, a 27-year-old from Tallaght, began his time with the UFC last July in Dublin and has put together a 2-1 record with the organisation (11-1-1 overall).
After an impressive debut victory against Josh Sampo, Holohan tasted defeat for the first time in his career when he lost via decision to Chris Kelades in Canada back in October.
But the Dubliner — an SBG team-mate of Conor McGregor’s — rebounded in emphatic fashion this past January when he dominated Shane Howell en route to a unanimous-decision win in Boston.
Holohan’s opponent, Vaughan Lee, is vastly more experienced in the octagon, having fought seven times for the UFC since being signed by the organisation in 2011.
With a 3-4 UFC record (14-10-1 overall) and having lost his last outing against Iuri Alcantara via KO after just 25 seconds, it’s likely that Lee will need a win against Holohan to avoid being cut from his contract. Previously a bantamweight, the 32-year-old Englishman will be competing in the flyweight division for the first time.
The42 understands that Lee was originally set to face Neil Seery. However, with Seery now preparing for Louis Smolka at UFC 189 in Las Vegas on 11 July, Lee will take on another Irish flyweight instead.
As announced by Ultimate Fighting Championship officials yesterday, UFC Fight Night 72 in Glasgow on 18 July will be headlined by the middleweight meeting of Michael Bisping and Thales Leites, with Ross Pearson clashing with Evan Dunham in the co-main event.
There are more bouts still to be announced, but here’s how the line-up looks so far…
UFC Fight Night 72
Michael Bisping vs. Thales Leites
Ross Pearson vs. Evan Dunham
Joanne Calderwood vs. Bec Rawlings
Ilir Latifi vs. Hans Stringer
Steven Ray vs. Leonardo Mafra
Joseph Duffy vs. Ivan Jorge
Paddy Holohan vs. Vaughan Lee
Leon Edwards vs. Pawel Pawlak
Paul Redmond vs. Robert Whiteford
