Observations. Satire. Politics. Interviews.
Just a little under a week ago – I wrote that Theresa May had but one option left. The only question I had was a simple one. Was she brazen enough to take it? All signals so far suggest she might well be. In the aftermath of the devastating defeat of her Brexit deal, all…
What a day! – May you live in interesting times as the Chinese would say. As almost everyone knows by now Theresa May’s Brexit deal has been torpedoed by a House of Commons vote of 432 to 202. Where to now? Regardless of which side of the Brexit debate you are on – we are…
The UFC roster is pretty much filled for the first quarter of 2019 and I have to say the fighter I am most eager to watch is Ben Askren. The Mighty Mouse / Askren trade was the first of it’s kind in UFC history and much has been written about Ben in the interim. We…
The 2nd largest largest MMA promotion in the world rolls into Dublin in a little over a month and the full fight card is pretty much filled out. As the guys over at Sports Joe have noted the card has been closed out with a number of local professional fighters. This card along with the…
The trouble with a fascinating and at times heartbreaking story is a pretty simple one. Where to start? On the surface of this one we have Limerick woman Tracey Duggan an amateur Muay Thai fighter with a mere 4 fights under her belt. Tracey’s first fight was on the 24th of February of 2018. Yes…
The one thing you can say about Ariel Helwani with certainty is that he is a survivor. The countdown to ESPN’s first UFC event, UFC Fight Night Cejudo vs Dillashaw, is a mere flick of the remote away on January 19th. The broadcasting deal has basically doubled the value of the UFC brand and Dana…
Sleep has been a little elusive lately. Working nights will do that to your body clock I guess. I woke at about 3 am this morning and decided fuck it – get up and make some coffee. As the kettle boiled I had quick flick through my twitter feed and Lo and behold it would…
An Open Letter to Promoters, Coaches, Fighters and Supporters of the Abbreviated Community It has recently come to my attention that an application has been made to the Department of Fun and Frolics to have the ” activities ” of MMA officially recognised as an endeavour of fun or frolicful fancy in Ireland. Dear, dear…
As reported last week a group of MMA clubs from around the country were scheduled to meet last Sunday in the Lucan Spa Hotel outside Dublin. The topic up for discussion was the state of Amateur MMA in the country. I have confirmed that a group of about 20 clubs attended and unanimously decided at…
Earlier this week Indra Davis interviewed Catherine Costigan of Pankration MMA Kickboxing academy for us at Combat Arena. A 45 minute recorded phone interview. I listened to it in full as I drove to work on Wednesday night. As I pulled into a petrol station in Westport their conversation was just drawing to a close….
I guess you could say that Andy Ryan has been on my radar right from the beginning of this writing enterprise of mine. My first ever Interview in MMA was with an Irish featherweight fighter called Andy ‘The Carlow Kid’ Murphy . Andy Ryan’s name and Gym, Team Ryano, popped up in glowing terms. At the weekend…
Castlebar is a regional Irish town of about 15,000 people. A Provincial place, not unlike 10 or 15 more dotted around Ireland. On Friday 7th of December it was home to a big boxing event as Ray Moylette attempted to get his hands on the vacant WBC International belt. Unfortunately Ray lost out narrowly to…
Theatre Royal, Castlebar Co. Mayo – Ray Moylette Fight Card The event is being broadcast by Irish TV company TG4. Ringside Media Commentators include Jay Quigley, Ryan Burnett, Kenneth Egan and Darren O’Neill 6:30pm Doors Open Fight #1 Cruiserweight 4×3 John Corcoran vs. Pavel Kucharski Fight #2 Heavyweight 4×3 Paddy Nevin vs. Hrvoje Bozinovic Fight…
For whom the Bell tolls, it tolls for thee – John Donne 1624 Thirty seconds into the 2nd round, of his 6th professional fight, Ray Moylette was lying on the canvas of the Foxwoods Casino Resort in Connecticut. Hurt and more than a little stunned. Gingerly, he managed to get back to his feet and…
Watching the final press conference during the week, it struck me that Deontay Wilder looked a little unhinged. A stream of consciousness – wave of rubbish seemed to spill out of him for 7 or 8 minutes. It was frankly – embarrassing. He had the appearance of a person trying to convince the world that…