So Cage Warriors return to Irish shores for the first time in a long time. The promotion paved the way for Irish MMA to break into the UFC for many fighters such as Conor McGregor, Neil Seery, Cathal Pendred, Ais Daly, and so forth with their now legendary shows in Dublin in the past.
So if this along isn't a good enough reason for you to watch them we've got five more good ones that might convince you to watch or head down to the 3 Arena this Saturday night.
Irish MMA's Next UFC Fighter?
Let's face it, Irish MMA has somewhat stalled in the UFC. Yes Conor has went far and beyond any of us could've imagined but outside of him not much else is happening. Pendred, Parke, Daly, Holohan and Redmond have all departed the promotion for various reasons, Neil Seery is coming/came to the end of his run in the company, Charlie Ward was defeated in under a minute in his debut, while Lobov and Duffy are still trying to put runs together. Outside, fighters have found it tough to get the call up to the promotion.
On Saturday night Karl Moore (7-1) will headline the card in the 3Arena. The light heavyweight, whose only loss was against UFC 209's Paul Craig, has won most of his fights via stoppage, including a win over current UFC fighter Cyril Asker.
He will face TUF veteran Josh Clark (12-3) this weekend and a win over the tough American could serve as his ticket to the big show, or at the very least have him knocking on the door. The UFC are short of two things - light heavyweights and Irish fighters. Signing Karl Moore could help ease both of these categories.
The Fight Academy Ireland fighter has the physical tools and is always evolving skill-wise. He would be a welcome addition to the UFC roster and has the potential to go far. Just like everyone now looks back in fondness at the time McGregor competed in Cage Warriors you too might have the same opportunity with Karl Moore.
The Return of The Alpha Female
Catherine Costigan (5-2) is one of the most beloved Irish fighters around. Between her personality and her grittiness you would be very hard to find something not to like about this Limerick lass.
Along with Ais Daly, Costigan has broken down barriers for female fighters in Ireland and has done so much media wise to help make MMA accepted in this country. She is true pioneer.
At Cage Warriors 81 she returns to the cage for the first time in 18 months due to back injuries, which she fought through in her last two fights. The atomweight made a successful return to win five straight after nearly three years out in 2013 and she could very well do something similar this time starting with opponent Wendy McKenna on Saturday. Do you want to be part of this story?
The SBG Hunter's Sequel
Imagine a 1-0 pro fighter going up against the perceived odds and facing a fighter who has 10 times more experience and who was almost signed to the UFC... That is exactly what Joe McColgan (2-0) did when he faced Peter Queally (9-2) and won last year.
This win catapulted McColgan's stock up so high that it made things difficult to get matched. He was deemed too good for fighters with similar experience and too risky for those with more.
Now he faces another seemingly uphill battle when he takes on Arnold Quero (13-5). The Frenchman is on an 8-1 run with wins over decent fighters from Japan, Brazil, and all over Europe and 9 of his 13 wins have come via TKO/KO.
Can McColgan add another incredible scalp to his young career - he certainly has the potential.
Lil Hulk's Debut
An understudy to the UFC's Neil Seery, a very experienced amateur with a bronze medal from the world championships and only . This is Hughie O'Rourke and this weekend he makes his long awaited professional debut.
There are a few Irish fighters around who are in the infancy of their pro careers that are tipped to accomplish great things in the sport and Hughie is certainly one of them. What helps is that he has a great gym in Team Ryano who have the coaches and training partners that will help elevate him.
It is a tough debut for the youngster though as he faces Arann Maguire, another fighter who progressed with success through the Irish amateur scene.
Botherly Love
If you didn't know, two brothers are fighting one another this Saturday night. Unlike the movie 'Warrior', the Treacy brothers, Francis and Stephen, live together, eat together and train together.
This will be their amateur MMA debuts but the pair have competed against one another in TKD twice before and have now decided to make the third in the MMA arena, as revealed in a great article by Petesy Carroll An unusual scenario to see and because of that it makes for an intriguing element to the night.
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