After months of speculation, UFC executive Garry Cook has revealed that talks have taken place for a potential event at one of Ireland’s two major stadiums, should Irish standout Conor McGregor challenge for the UFC featherweight championship.
The UFC’s Chief Global Officer spoke with the Irish Mirror to reveal that the promotion are looking into putting on a show at either the Aviva Stadium with a capacity of 50,000, or Croke Park with a whopping capacity of over 80,000.
“We are looking at something very special,” Cook told irishmirror.ie. “Talks have taken place over the prospect of the hiring Croke Park or the Aviva Stadium for a possible world title fight against the Brazilian champion Jose Aldo next summer.
“Conor is an athlete who is capturing the imagination of the Irish public and the prospect of hiring a huge outdoor stadium to stage a fight that will put him and the sport on the map is exciting all of us.
“After the success of the event we staged at the 02 Arena in Dublin earlier this year, we believe we can sell a lot of tickets for this fight. So long as everything goes ok with Conor’s next bout, it should be all systems go for next summer.
“The noise of the crowd and the spectacle generated by Conor and the other fighters was just incredible and to move our sport forward to the next level, we want to tap into the enthusiasm this wonderfully talented sportsman has generated.”
“The viewing figures we got on the event were also spectacular, with Setanta getting a great audience and the rerun on 3e a couple of days later had around of a fifth of the Irish population watching the action.”
While the #5 ranked McGregor must first get past Germany’s Dennis Siver on January 18 in Boston, Massachusetts, he may still have to wait for a shot at the crown with Cub Swanson (#2) and Frankie Edgar (#3) facing off on Nov. 22 in a fight that many feel will decide the rightful challenger to current champion Jose Aldo.
Photo – Garry Cook by Jorden Curran
