London, UK – The Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) today confirmed an explosive five round main event between Conor “The Notorious” McGregor and Cole “Magrinho” Miller to take place at The O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday 19th July.
The two featherweights, and fans alike, have been requesting the match up since the athletes engaged in a heated exchange on social media – repeatedly calling each other out.
McGregor shot into the limelight after an impressive debut at UFC Stockholm: Latifi vs Mousasi in 2012. He since suffered an ACL tear, which has kept him side lined for the past eight months. Today he officially received his medical clearance and is ready to make a comeback:
“I saw my doctor and received full clearance to return to fighting with no restrictions on training,” McGregor commented, “it has been a long road to recovery but I am back and I am more ready than ever to bring the UFC back to Dublin on July 19th.
“I want to thank Dr. ElAttrache, my surgeon, and Heather Milligan, my physical therapist, for all the time and effort they dedicated to my recovery. Also want to thank my coach John Kavanagh and strength coach John Connor for all the work they put in with me in Ireland.”
Unfazed by the hype surrounding the newcomer, Miller believes McGregor is yet to make an impact in the division: “My point of making the initial call out was to stir up some actual reasonable thought amongst people in the mixed martial arts community. After beating two guys in the UFC, Conor is not ready for Jose Aldo’s title. He could be the second coming for all I care; he’s got to earn his way up the ladder like everyone else. Especially when the people ranked in that top ten, which is where I should be, have worked hard for a long time.”
Miller, who has notable back to back wins against Andy Ogle and Sam Sicilia in his last two fights, certainly has experience on his side after signing with the UFC back in 2007 during season five of The Ultimate Fighter®and thinks this will be more advantageous than a home town crowd: “I expect lots of boos from the Irish fans, but I will be mentally preparing myself for this type of environment. Ireland may be Conor’s home, however I’m the one with 16 fights in the Octagon, seems to me like I’ll feel a lot more at home in there than he will.”
UFC Fight Night Dublin: McGregor vs. Miller will feature a co-main event between Gunnar “Gunni” Nelson and Ryan LaFlare, amongst other fan favourites such as Brad “One Punch” Pickett and Neil “2Tap” Seery.
Fight Club™ members will have an exclusive opportunity to purchase tickets to this event from 10am on Wednesday 4th June via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special internet pre-sale will also be available to UFC newsletter subscribers from 10 am on Thursday 5th June. To join UFC Fight Club™ or to register for the UFC newsletter go to UFC.com.
Tickets for UFC Fight Night Dublin: McGregor vs. Miller will go on sale to the general public at 10am on Friday 6th June , priced from €50, will be available via www.ticketmaster.ie and www.theo2.ie
The full card for UFC Fight Night Dublin: McGregor vs Miller will be announced over the coming weeks. All bouts are live and subject to change. For more information visit ufc.com
The latest UFC Fight Night Dublin card now includes:
Conor McGregor vs. Cole Miller
Gunnar Nelson vs. Ryan LaFlare
Brad Pickett vs. Ian McCall
Tom Lawler vs. Ilir Latifi
Cody Donovan vs. Nikita Krylov
Drew Dober vs. Nick Hein
Phil Harris vs. Neil Seery
MMA Plus will bring you more UFC Fight Night Dublin announcements as we get them.
