Mixed martial arts organisations PFL and Bellator constantly attempt to mine Ireland for the iconic scenes witnessed a decade ago at UFC Dublin, but they may have looked elsewhere, as hundreds of Irish fans are set to flock to Atlantic City to support Rhys McKee and Caolan Loughran in their must-win UFC clashes on Saturday.
Outside of Ian Machado Garry, a rare talent who has had difficulty stimulating intrigue at home, there has been an absence of momentum among the Irish within the world's flagship MMA promotion.
In Conor McGregor’s heyday, there was broad interest in his beloved supporting cast, with the likes of Cathal Pendred, Aisling Daly, Neil Seery, Norman Parke, Paddy Holohan, Joseph Duffy and Gunnar Nelson claiming valuable wins during their tenures with Dana White’s organisation.
Stakes
Both looking for their first UFC wins, there are hopes that McKee and Loughran can spark life back into national mixed martial arts fandom.
However, anything less than victory could see them ousted from the promotion - the cruel reality of top-tier combat sports.
McKee is already one of the most accomplished fighters the island has produced. The only Irish MMA competitor to win titles with both European promotions BAMMA and Cage Warriors, 'Skeletor' has produced spectacular moments.
In 2016, a week after burying his father, the Ballymena man knocked out current UFC fighter Jai Herbert.
After two consecutive losses in his first run with UFC, he went back to the regional scene and claimed Cage Warriors gold with a stoppage win over highly-rated prospect Justin Burlinson before defending it with another stoppage against UK legend Jimmy Wallhead.
Both victories were elevated by a backdrop of frenzied scenes at the SSE Arena in Belfast and Dublin's 3 Arena.
In his third UFC test, McKee ran into a stern challenge in the shape of Ange Loosa in Paris, who edged him by one round on the majority of judges’ scorecards.
Now, he must get through powerful striker Chidi Njokuani - a towering middleweight who returns to welterweight for the first time in eight years - to guarantee a future in the Octagon.
"This fight’s opening the main card, it’s a fight against a guy who’s been around a long time," the 28-year-old told RTÉ Sport.
"People could say it’s back-against-the-wall stuff and that’s just my dream. Anyone who knows me, even with my life outside of the UFC as well, these fights are exactly what I need."
Promise
The same Parisian card that hosted McKee vs Loosa also marked Loughran's debut.
'The Don' had spent an entire fight camp preparing for scheduled opponent Yanis Ghemmouri. On arrival in the French capital, he had Ghemmouri switched out for storied French bantamweight Taylor Lapilus - a UFC debut nearly as difficult as McKee was handed first time around in the shape of welterweight phenom Khamzat Chimaev.
Although the Tyrone man came up short by one round, he made a lasting impression on UFC audiences by embracing the role of an enemy on foreign soil.
He clowned French MMA in the lead up to the contest, making him a pantomime villain for the partisan crowd both at the weigh-ins and on fight night, where he chose to enter the Octagon with no music to emphasis the boos ands hisses from the baying French public.
Now in Atlantic City, and desperate to shake his first professional loss, Loughran has been reminded that he is living out his dream, which once seemed so absurd that people openly scoffed at his aspirations.
"I actually came to New York in 2018, I was coming over to train with John Danaher, I was going to focus on jiu-jitsu for a long time," he explained.
"I told my boss, 'I'm not coming back, I’m going to America for a long summer’. He said, ‘That’s alright, when are you back?’ I said, ‘I’m not coming back’. He asked me, ‘What are you going to do?’. I told him, ‘I’m going to fight in the UFC,’ and the head engineer at that time burst out laughing in my face!"
Irish Eyes
On Saturday night, two hours from New York City, Loughran and McKee will indeed fight for the UFC at Atlantic City's famed Boardwalk Hall.
The duo’s performances have become the centrepiece to an Irish reunion in the United States, with hundreds of Gaels living in Philadelphia, San Francisco and New York set to flood the well-known gambling town.
"I’ve fought in Belfast, I’ve fought back home, but I’ve never talked to more people that have come to one of my fights in my life," revealed Loughran.
"There’s a lot of Tyrone people in Philly, and for years they’ve been messaging me saying, 'When are you getting over here?’ Now, I’m here so they’re bringing a load of Gaelic football teams, who are having big group parties at this fight, so it’s going to be lethal."
Wins for Loughran and McKee could end the online sneering that has become more visible on the topic of Irish MMA's poor run of form in the octagon.
It could also give a boost to the other national charges - Kiefer Crosbie and Shauna Bannon - who are also on a quest to collect their first win bonuses with the company.
Victories could also reenergise the voices that have long gone hoarse screaming for Derry’s Paul Hughes to get an opportunity to shine in the UFC’s infamous octagon on the back of another win, should he have his hand raised when he headlines Cage Warriors 170 in Dublin next weekend.
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