FanPost

Irish television outlet 3e secures rights to show UFC Dublin

Today marks another step in the progression of MMA here in Ireland. Irish television outlet 3e, a free to view televison channel here in the green isle (owned by "TV3") has secured the rights to show upcoming Irish sports superstar Conor McGregor bring his brash, arrogant and talented traits to the Octogon here in Ireland. From my powerful obsession of this sport I have learned that much like Ali back in the day, McGregor and his open minded blabbering has single-handedly brought the UFC back to Ireland after an absence of more than five whole years, something of which me and many others have been chomping at the bit for. Not only did McGregor help create revenue for the sport here in Ireland, this past week he has contributed towards two huge milestones for this small country in that helping UFC Dublin being one of the fastest selling UFC events of all time, with tickets selling out almost immediately and also McGregor also promising and succeeding in bringing this country the UFC to an Irish TV outlet something of which I am proud of and a little fascinated by how a single man such as McGregor with no political power can change the whole landscape of a sport in a country.

2013' was a groundbreaking year for Irish MMA, headlined by superstars like McGregor and Cathal Pendred, the sport really gained attention from big media outlets and people began to talk abut the sport in smaller social circles. There were documentaries about the sport and daily life's of these fighters such as "Notorious" with Conor, and The Ultimate Fighter also highlighting the upcoming talent such as fighters like Cathal Pendred and Chris Fields. Exposure like this influences our younger generation to join local gym's and participate in some form of Martial Art thus leading to the sport continuing to grow.

Once again I am proud to call myself a fan of this sport for over five years now and gradually being able to witness the enormous improvements and progression of the sport into these new emerging international country's. The future is bright for this sport and I hope the UFC and other MMA promotions such as Bellator and "WSOF" can also emerge onto international markets and fully expand on the sport us fans spend our hard earned cash on.