Irish senator Catherine Noone has today retracted a recent call for the UFC to be banned from returning to Ireland, admitting that she “jumped the gun”, and now aims to take up offers of training and education in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Noone had previously stated on RTE Radio; “I have written to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport seeking his views on allowing this vile so-called sport to be given a platform and an audience here and fully believe that this event should not be licensed.”
She continued, “I don’t believe we should be serving as a platform on which to publicise it both nationally and internationally, and therefore I don’t think we should be hosting this event here.”
Furthermore, Noone’s lack of knowledge was even more apparent with misguided comments such as “gruesome injuries are all-too frequent”.
Irish standouts Cathal Pendred, Patrick Holohan, and Northern Ireland’s Norman Parke will all feature on this weekend’s UFC Fight Night card at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, USA with breakout star Conor McGregor leading the Irish charge when he takes on Germany’s Dennis Siver in the main event of the evening.
Should McGregor claim victory on January 18, the Dublin native will be handed a shot at the UFC’s world featherweight championship, currently occupied by Brazilian Jose Aldo, and Dublin’s Croke Park Stadium with a maximum capacity of over 80,000 is targeted as a likely venue.
The UFC’s last trip to Ireland came in July of last year when McGregor faced off against Diego Brandao in the headline bout with Pendred, Parke, and Holohan all competing in front of an inpsiring audience who will long be remembered as the most passionate fans in UFC history when they sold out The O2 in Dublin.
Photo by Jorden Curran
