When UFC docked in Belfast in late 2016, the mixed-martial-arts community in Northern Ireland were disgruntled by the lack of regional representation that featured on the card.
"You could have been visiting Belfast last weekend and you wouldn't have known there was a UFC event on," said future Cage Warriors lightweight champion Joe McColgan, at the time.
"I work in Belfast and I saw no advertising for the event in town. There was no chat about it. No one was interested in it locally. It was just really flat."
Seven years later, it’s two charges from north of the border that have the island’s eye fixed on Paris tonight as Ballymena’s Rhys McKee makes his long awaited return to the Octagon and an up-start from Tyrone, Caolan Loughran, faces his first walk under the UFC banner.
Despite being the same age and sharing a last port of call in Cage Warriors championship belts, the fighting Irish had two different roads to UFC Paris.
Loughran enters the league for the first time with an unblemished record of 8-0 and is adamant it is only a matter of time before he becomes the new face of Irish MMA.
McKee, on the other hand, knows there is no room for error in his second run with the organisation.
The fight game already ripped his heart out and forced him to piece it back together as the European scene cast a sceptical eye on his chances of being granted a second, and deserved, opportunity with the promotion.
They did McKee dirty. His first UFC fight was accepted on six days’ notice.
His opponent, Khamzat Chimaev, was a phenom the likes of which had never been seen and looked ready to join the title fray on his arrival to the promotion. His reward for suffering defeat to an immovable object with less than a week’s preparation? A tenured veteran in the division, Alex Morono.
After a spirited battle, the American’s hand was raised and McKee’s UFC dream was all said and done in less than four months.
Ballymena's finest is BACK on the big stage! 🤩
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 1, 2023
🇮🇪 @RhysMcKee is ready to show the world what he's learned vs. 🇨🇭 @LoosaAnge! #UFCParis pic.twitter.com/5opRHEJ23K
Life after UFC can expose the hardiest of veterans, but not "Skeletor".
Battling back with with three stoppage victories, one of which also saw him claim the Cage Warriors welterweight title, and two main events at major shows in Belfast and Dublin, fans and media felt he had done everything he could to earn another stint with UFC.
"They're not going to sign him again," was the word from people in the know.
Yet, in mid-July, the news broke that McKee had secured a second tenure with Dana White & Co.
"This is the whole reason I climbed that mountain again," McKee told RTE Sport ahead of his clash with Swiss-Congolese Ange Loosa (9-3-0).
"It’s because I know I’m that level, I know I’m world-class. Saturday night is the first chance for me to show everyone.
"This run is going to be a long time, this isn’t going to be anything short. I’m going to finish my career in the UFC. Whether that takes eight, nine or five, six years, I’m just going to keep climbing to be that number one guy in the world."
Comparatively, it feels as though Loughran was shot out of a cannon and into the UFC roster.
At 4-0 he was sticking his finger in the chest of every bantamweight in the world without having fought an opponent with a winning record. Although the masses were dubious about his ability, his four straight wins with Cage Warriors and subsequent title capture have silenced the doubters.
Six days after McKee’s signing, Loughran was confirmed as a UFC fighter. The pair speak highly of each other and feel like a team heading into battle, but the Team Kaobon bantamweight offers a very different flavour to the laid-back, soft spoken manner of McKee.
"Everyone in the division is going to know I’m a problem after Saturday night," Loughran promised before leaving for Paris.
Twenty-four hours out from the event, despite a change of opponent that may have landed him with the toughest Irish debut challenge since McKee met Chimaev, Loughran has already established himself as public enemy number one in the French capital, taunting the crowd at the weigh-in who booed him for daring to face local boy Taylor Lapilus (18-3-0).
He’s the same as he ever was since turning pro, constantly poking his finger in the chest of anyone who stands in his way of becoming a UFC champion.
🇮🇪 @DonCaolan135 not exactly making friends here at #UFCParis! 😳 pic.twitter.com/l69Q64O8P0
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 1, 2023
A lot has changed in the nine years since UFC Dublin in 2014, and indeed, the seven years since UFC Belfast.
In 2014, it felt as though Northern Ireland’s Norman Parke played second fiddle to the fighters based in Dublin, from the SBG and Team Ryano facilities. While McColgan felt the need to speak out about the lack of talent from up North ahead of Belfast in 2016, McKee and Loughran - although he has yet to fight for the promotion - feel like fan favourites across the island.
Both are underdogs in their bouts today at the Accor Arena but a couple of wins for the duo would see another swell in the growing tide that is Irish representation in the UFC, which is predicted to crash into Dublin Port and the 3 Arena next year.
"It’s a very cool feeling to be part of this," remarked Loughran. "Hopefully we can keep going, keep winning and more of us get in before next year."
