Chaos FC Review, Gladiateire FC Review & Elite FC Preview | The Energized Show

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What is up and welcome to The Energized Show! On this episode we discuss Chaos FC Review, Gladiateire FC Review & Elite FC Preview. Like, Comment, Subscribe & Hit the notification bell for more Energized Shows! Youtube : Energized Show Instagram: @Energized_Show TikTok…

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They were quite peppery shots, but they weren't big haymakers being landed by McLaughlin. At the end of the day, when Masuku got up at the end of the round, he got back up to his feet himself and he seemed to have his wits about him. So, I think it's one of those ones where if you're on the if you're on the side that like that should have been stopped earlier, I think you're totally right. But also, if you're like you have to give the fighter every opportunity to defend himself and to continue continuing in the fight, I think that's that's correct as well. >> [music] >> The Energized Show up the wattage. >> Okay, here we go. >> [screaming] [gasps] >> Okay, what's going on guys? Welcome to a brand new episode of Energized brought to you by Aura King's competitions. Ross >> intoxicated or something? How are you doing, man? Welcome back to the show. It's been a while. It's been a hot minute, Bas. Unbelievable, we are off the back of an absolute historic and eventful week in Irish MMA. And another one to look forward to this weekend coming. Two shows, Chaos Gladiateur happened over the weekend. We will definitely get into them. And Lee Fighting Championships next weekend, we'll get into that. And we will also talk all things UFC. Carlos Prates got big win at the weekend. Khamzat up next welterweight division. Ian Garry, there's lots to talk about, Bas. There's lots to talk about. Oh, man. This is a This is going to be a very energized episode. So, if you are new to the Energized Show, make sure to like and subscribe because we are here every week, Ross. How are you? We are. We do not miss. We do not miss. But we might as well start on the Saturday, Bas. Chaos Fighting Championships. Chaos by name, chaos by nature. Bas, the build-up to this one was epic. There was bad blood between Tartan Blood and Blaine McGill. But when it came to when it came to fight night, Tartan Blood went running. Turned off Turned the comments off the Instagram. Didn't show up for the fight. Didn't show up for weigh-ins. Wasn't was nowhere to be seen. Ross, what like what has after happened this week has been absolute chaos as you just said. Um everyone got involved. Like other organizations trying to get a fight for Blaine McGill. Like this Tartan Blood guy, right? Like first of all, why was he booked to fight again on Chaos when last time he didn't show up to fight as well? That is the biggest question of all cuz like Blaine McGill, it was announced that he had sold over 150 tickets for this event in his hometown. Like get the guy an opponent that is going to arrive, man. Yeah, I think look, the guy is new. McGill versus Tartan Blood would be a bit of a spectacle. They knew it would put eyes on the on it. I was speaking to Andy Chapman. I didn't want to break down the fourth wall on what they were doing. So, they knew that this is happening. But then, the guy who Daniel Thompson was supposed to be fighting, he was bringing over teammate who was willing to step in at the last minute if Tartan Blood didn't show up, which he didn't show up. However, I'll say well, I think it was was it James Slevin's opponent? One of the two other guys anyway. But at the end of the day, that guy didn't end up showing up either. So, it it ended up being a bit of a [ __ ] show. But look, it seems to be that way on the domestic scene with pro fighters pulling out at the last minute. Seems to happen quite often. Sure, we had Ash Williams who was supposed to fight Daniel Thompson on Chaos, pulled out. I think he said there was a a family death and then fought the next night at Gladiateur anyway. So, it is one of those ones where like what are you supposed to do with it? It's crazy. All I will say is shout-out to the guys on both shows cuz all the pros ended up with a fight in the end. So, that's that's that's the most important thing. And Blaine McGill, he he got to fight in the end in front of a rapturous home crowd. And he made a statement, Bas. He made a statement. Yeah, look when we put the content out during the week in the build-up to Blaine's fight, like a lot of people interacted with it. And like that's how you're able to tell if someone's like getting a big push or do people have support? Like obviously there's loads of pros around. Sometimes you put content out about them for fight week and there's very little traction. Like other people, massive traction. But like for someone making a pro debut, this was a big one. So, like we were very excited to cover the event. That's why when he was all of a sudden off the card, we're like, "Oh, Jesus." And then like then he was back on the card. Like everyone As I said, everyone was was shouting it out. Like the likes of Dave Farrell, Andy Stevenson was putting content out as well, which was very funny. Like it was just like, "What is going to happen here?" But he finally got his fight. And the entrance he did as well, you're like, "This guy has star talent." Not only is he entertaining in the cage, but also in the cage too, Ross. Yeah, you I think someone needs to go out and check the Everglades Hotel and see if the roof is still there after Blaine McGill [laughter] was on. It was a it was incredible to see. It was a real sort of star in the making. And again, Andy Chapman said afterwards that look, at the end of the day, they knew the support Blaine has in Derry. He's a local lad there. They know he brings a big crowd. It showed, as you said, with the walkout how how much support that he does have. It showed in the ticket sales he had. And realistically, he's also a really talented fighter. So, he's probably not going to have many fights on the regional scene. So, therefore, you know, make it happen when you can and have a fight there. Now again, if he doesn't move from one of the big shows after that performance, I wouldn't mind seeing him fighting maybe the Millennium Forum in Derry as well, which is another big venue and sort of more of an arena-based venue cuz I think he'd look absolutely spectacular there as well. But look, Blaine McGill, unbelievable. The fight itself, obviously he was fighting someone with pro Muay Thai skills or K1 skills. Your man looked very very good on the feet. He He did like he gave Blaine some quick kicks and you know, he could say it wasn't the first time throwing one anyway. And at the end of the day, Blaine took him down and was smart. And it was great to see that from Blaine cuz Blaine's obviously anyone who's watched him in the past, he's a brilliant striker. He's a very entertaining striker to watch. But to see him actually up for the takedown and fight the fight where he was obviously superior, what showed that obviously in the pro game, he's he's gotten smarter as a fighter. He showed high level of fight IQ. And he went in there and got the win. And he picked up the first win for Fight Academy Ireland at their new gym. I'll say all the training that he's done there for the 8 hours that it was open beforehand was insane. But shout-out to the lads at Fight Academy Ireland. The new facility looks absolutely phenomenal. And I think it will really help the fighters by leaps and bounds. But Blaine McGill, it was his night in Derry. He was the man who made made the big splash, the big noise. And he wasn't done by going one on one on one and oh, Bas. He got on the mic afterwards and he called out Damien McKenna. He said he he he'd knock him out in Cage Warriors either in Belfast or Dublin. What do you think of this callout, Bas? Do you like it? Yeah, look we we've been saying this for a while. Obviously when we first started covering the sport, we were like, "We don't want the Irish fighting each other." But as as time goes on, more Irish fighters fighting each other builds up hype, builds up the interest, like gets people off the edge of their seats. Like obviously we're going to get into Cormac McKenna. I'm sorry, Cormac McLaughlin against Kieran Masuku. Like huge fight. Damien McKenna against Blaine McGill on Cage Warriors will be an absolutely massive fight. Like that like that is a fight you're like, "I want to see that." Like fair enough some of these other lads building their building their records and like I'm not against that either. Like if you go fighting a random Brazilian or Italian or whoever, like people will just be like, "Right, the Irish guy is going to win." But when it's two Irish guys fighting each other, you're like, "Wow, this is like this is the [ __ ] I'm making sure I'm watching." Yeah, it's blockbuster. Really really is. Um we're here for it. We're definitely here for it. We're definitely And also, Damien McKenna has also fought Keith Keogh as well. So, like like and that fight was massive as well. We did a Energized face-off for that. Like these are the fights that we're we love covering. So, uh Would you get the face-off out of your apartment for Damien McKenna and Blaine McGill? I I think so. If both lads are up for it, like I don't see why not. Yeah, I I love it. I love it. And look, it was it was a great main event to to a great card put on by the lads at Chaos. Unfortunately, Blaine's teammate and another local man, James Slevin, he lost via TKO in a very back-and-forth fight. You know, James Slevin really bust up his opponent. I think there was there was blood dripping all over his back at one stage from I think was maybe his left orbital. I think he he might have broken it. He definitely did some damage to it. Um But unfortunately, he just got caught and backed up against the fence and and then finished. Looks like there was a bit of a size difference between the two lads as well. So, it'll be interesting to see where where we see James Slevin next. But he he will be back. He he's an absolute veteran on the amateur scene. And I'm sure he'll probably be on the next Cage Conflict or whenever I He's supposed to be fighting on Your Fighting Championship against Aidan O'Boyle in about 3 or 4 weeks' time. But I just don't see that happening after the knockout. We will see. He was originally scheduled to fight Ash Williams as well. Yeah. That was short notice. Yeah, so look, we'll just have to see see how it plays out. The other pro MMA fight, Daniel Thompson, after a more extended break from MMA, he was supposed to fight on the last Chaos card to make his pro debut. Unfortunately, his opponent pulled out I think on the day or the day before. It It wasn't Tartan Blood that time. Didn't didn't make didn't didn't make the call. I actually think it might have been Tartan Blood, you know. No, >> [laughter] >> no, I don't I don't think so. I think Tartan Blood was the main event. Okay, fair enough. Um but yeah, it was uh Look, obviously great win for great great win for him Daniel Thompson really showed a nice solid stand up game there as well. So really looking forward to seeing him out there again. I think he could be the guy to headline the next chaos. Why not? He was sort of co co main if you want to call it that on this occasion. So why not [snorts] have him get out there and do it again. He actually was scheduled to fight tartan blood. I was And Jamie McAleece last time out. Did you see there you go. I think the Jamie McAleece one drew me. Yeah, so there there we go. Who knows? Maybe tartan blood will be booked for a third time. No, that's how it was last time. Let them settle the beef. Let them settle the beef. Tartan blood is one of the most famous for it in Ireland right now. Yeah, he is. For someone who's never actually fought in Ireland, he is he he is very very famous. But look, some other great scraps there. Destiny Abozae Azaib Zobi. Is that how you say? He finished Johnny Ward with a vicious knockout. There was an eye poke in the middle of the fight and you know, you could hear in the comms been saying, you know, should Johnny Ward have come back out or not? You know, he gets more respect from the fans for coming out and losing. But at the end of the day, no one really wants to see someone get knocked out. But Destiny is absolutely vicious. So the lads up in Sandee MMA have a superstar on their hands with him. I think as time goes on, they will find it very hard to match him up against heavyweights and really heavyweights. And I think he's winning the fights in both weight classes to get get a scrap. And I think he's only 19 or 20. So he is he is a big dude. I would not fancy getting a hit off him. Yeah, he's the new heavyweight champion of the organization. So it'll be interesting to see if they go him back up again. Sandee seems to have a good relationship with chaos as well. So Yeah, absolutely. Well, Darren Sonic is a promoter himself. So I think he he has a good relationship with all the guys cuz he would have booked all their fighters fights as well. So definitely definitely someone to watch out for. Kenneth Breen from team evolve got a round two submission. CJ Armstrong what a finish. The knees in that fight were absolutely vicious. I was very impressed with that. That was great back and forth as well. Yeah, really really was. Jerry Downing don't be silly jump the gilly from new era. That was a a very very impressive fight. And then Rudy from Phantom got the TKO in the first round. That was a another epic fight. But look, Bas Rutten Chaos absolutely chaos as expected. Unbelievable night. Blaine McGill he stole the show the star of the show. Unbelievable fight unbelievable promo. The man is a star. He's born to be one. Can't wait to see it. Daniel Thompson long awaited pro debut. Can't wait to see him back in there again. I think he should headline the next show. And then Destiny from Sandee MMA he is definitely a heavyweight or light heavyweight that should be on everyone's radar. The guys at chaos they had a lot to put up with on fight week but they pulled a cat out of the bag and put on an absolutely terrific show. Make sure to check them out and make sure to check out all the results on the energize show. Yeah, now some of them finishes were absolutely like just wild. So we have all the finishes on the energize show's Instagram page as well as the gladiators ones as well. One one finish that we didn't touch on there Bas Rutten that I think we should. There was a K1 fight between Sean Kelly and was it Boyle? I I think it was Boyle or Void. I actually can't remember which. But it finished via TKO in the third round via vomit Bas Rutten. That is not something we see too frequently here. Um it was a unique finish. I especially cuz Sean Kelly had the fight won wrapped up 10 seconds ago, gets sick and then loses via TKO. Bas Rutten, what did you make of the fight and what did you make of the finish? Well, like obviously Sean Kelly was originally scheduled to fight in MMA a pro fight. Mhm. And then and then this happened. And then the first thing I thought once he got sick was he must have been hanging out with you and eating your cooking man. >> [laughter] [gasps] >> No, he said that um that the gum shield when the gum shield was put back in his mouth he like it made him vomit. So like >> He gagged on it. Yeah, well like look, when was the last time you saw something like that happen? That's the like I remember Paddy the Baddy got sick but that was after a fight like in the case. So uh Look, um Sorry, it is Cody Peoples. My apologies. Mr. Peoples, I do apologize apologize for getting your name wrong. Yeah. But uh yeah, look, it's it's not something that happens. I I can confirm that I did not cook Sean Kelly any meals in the build up to this fight. Look, one thing I will say is Sean Kelly needs to get back on the 5K runs cuz he was supposed to be doing three five minutes and after three three minutes against someone who showed up on two days notice, the gas tank wasn't up to the scratch it needed to be. So uh good learning lesson for him and maybe maybe the MMA fight not happening um that was a blessing in disguise if the gas tank wasn't ready to go there. So hopefully see him back there again. He's a real character Sean Kelly. I definitely do do enjoy watching him. He's a scrapper as well. So let's let's see how how he prepares to the next one. Let's get him back out there. Yeah, I miss the big stuff. So Ross, overall give a rating for chaos. It's it was absolutely chaos, bro. I'm going to give a an eight out of 10. I think eight out of 10 is fair. I think um obviously they were hampered by the matchmaking by by pull outs which isn't on them. But at the end of the day, they got Blaine McGill matched. They got Sean Kelly rematched. They got Daniel Thompson rematched. I think they even got James Slavin rematched. So they had a lot of work to do they got everyone a fight in the end and that's the main thing. They put on three pro MMA fights and a pro K1 fight and also a brilliant amateur heavyweight title fight. It was a it was a real slobber knocker for for the period it went on. So look, I think the lads did a great job. I think eight out of 10 is a fair rating for them. Yeah, no you know what? I'll give it I'll agree with that just because in the build up to both events like like as people know we cover both events. So like either Ross will cover one and I'll cover the other. And then uh we're like oh, which one's probably the one people are more excited for. And I felt like gladiator was it. That was getting the most hype because of the main event. But then like at the at after everything was done the most hype was then for chaos cuz Blaine was after card and on the card, you know. So I say like if you had got to look at their Instagram like viewings I think the chaos one would have got more than the gladiator. And also like all nearly all the fights ended in finishes as well. Very entertaining. Yeah, very very entertaining. And there's two two two very good shows. Nothing lower. I was very entertained by both and I suppose we'll go from one and we'll go into the other. Gladiatora what a show. Must say also shout out to lads at Just Content. They actually produced both shows back to back. Unbelievable stuff from them. I think they are the best in the country. I think the camera quality is absolutely exceptional. I think the the streams are really good that they put out there. And you know what? You can actually see with the promotions and the commentators etc. They're very comfortable working with them. They create a good working environment whether they're we've seen them live in an action purchase. At the end of the day, I think they are the best in the biz. So if you are a fight promotion who's looking to use people, I would highly recommend Just Content. No, I agree. Like the standard was very advertising. No, it was it was the quality. Like when you're watching the show with all so many different angles and the quality the quality of the high definition it just makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable. Not only for us but for everyone at home. And then also like Dave Farrell and Andrew McGann did a great job together as well. And then also you have to give a shout out to cool woman Jess whose birthday was over the weekend as well. Like the biggest legend in the cook the cook game Ross in Ireland. Absolutely. And then shout out to the one and only energize commentator of the year Phil Campbell and Aaron Butler who is apparently he is the paddle king of Irish MMA. Um so shout out to two of those guys on Gladiatora who are doing the commentary there. So unbelievable. You know what? Shout out to anyone in Irish MMA. Why not? You can all have a shout out. Who who's the give someone else a shout out Ross? Who do you want? Ross, Stevie Stevie Moore and Aaron Wallace both doing an unbelievable refereeing jobs over the weekend. Absolute legends. Why not? Deck Larkin doing refereeing over the weekend. Absolute legend. Uh who else? Nikki Coil and and Amy Amy Kelly doing a bit of photography at the weekend. Absolute legends. You can all have a shout out. Shout out to tartan blood man. Shout out to tartan [laughter] blood for turning off the comments on his Instagram. He's getting tagged in this one. He's getting tagged. So Ross, >> [laughter] >> make sure to like and subscribe if you are new. We are happy we Gladiatora three Ross went down. >> [laughter] >> And in the main event Corey McLoughlin defeated Kieran McAssey in one of the most hyped all Irish scraps this year. Ross, what did you make of the fight? And also what did you make of the finish? This was probably one of the best one round Irish MMA all Irish MMA fights I've seen in a very very long time. It was absolutely sensational. I was buzzing for the fight. It was one of those ones when it was made I was like I actually can't believe both people like accepted the fight in terms of like not that I don't think both people are game, but in terms of, you know, one of these two guys is going to have to lose and that's absolutely like crazy to think at this stage of their career. Two brave boys. Cory McLaughlin obviously riding high with win What a win over in the home ready in the PFL. We hadn't seen him for for about a year. Really looking forward to it. Kieran Meighan absolutely terrorized the amateur scene and finishing everyone in sight. So, look, two unbelievable fighters fight easily as we said beforehand. And the guys in Comber actually also said it could have easily been on PFL Belfast. Unbelievable scrap. Loved it. Loved watching it. Like some massive shots eaten by both guys. At one stage uh McLaughlin hit a massive overhand right. Meighan then dropped him. Then Meighan got dropped. Meighan came back with a flying knee. It was it was absolutely bedlam from start to finish. I'm actually almost tempted to record the entire fight and put it out on social media. It was that big. I I absolutely loved it. Obviously the talking point comes at about 90 seconds, maybe even less, maybe 60 seconds to go. Um McLaughlin lands a massive right hand. Drops Meighan up against the cage. You know, the whole the whole atmosphere of the place was absolutely, you know, everyone took a deep breath when that happened and thought the fight was over. Meighan sort of scrambled. Sort of defend himself really intelligently. You could see sort of the 30 seconds left on the clock. McLaughlin got into full mount and sort of peppered away until the end of the round. I suppose a lot of people are going to ask us to sort of talk about the actual end of the fight. Should the fight have been stopped? Should it or not? I really want to say first of all, Aaron Wallace is one of the best referees in the entire country. No doubt about it. He really really is. Should the fight have Like put it this way. If Aaron Wallace stopped the fight with 10 seconds to go, would anyone went, "Oh, he shouldn't have stopped the fight." Absolutely not. People would have been totally fine with him stopping the fight. But you also have to remember one beauty about having high quality referees in the country is Aaron Wallace has refereed on the scene. He knows both fighters really really well. He knows them as athletes. He refereed Kieran Meighan versus Blaine McGill, which was an absolute war. He's seen those two guys absolutely knock the head off each other for 9 minutes straight. With Meighan and the way he was actually defending himself initially after getting dropped, and he was moving position. And then the last couple of shots for the last sort of 15, 20 seconds, they were quite peppery shots. They weren't big haymakers being landed by McLaughlin. And at the end of the day, when Meighan got up at the end of the round, he got back up to his feet himself. And he seemed to have his wits about him. So, I think it's one of those ones where if you're on the if you're on the side that like that should have been stopped earlier, I think you're totally right. But also if you're like you have to give the fighter every opportunity to defend himself and to continue continue in the fight, I think that's that's correct as well. So, look, obviously brave decision by Danny Cor to not let his fighter back out in the second round. All credit to Danny Cor there. All credit to Cory McLaughlin for doing his job. All credit to Kieran Meighan for being an absolute tough son of a [ __ ] Yeah, no, man. It was it was electric. Like the atmosphere even when like Cory was walking out, people were sort of like shouting stuff at him. When Meighan was walking out, the fans were going bananas. Like it it was it was it was almost like a copy and paste of the the atmosphere from Chaos as well. It was just pure electric. Mhm. Yeah, it really really really was. And look, this is I don't think we're going to see a fight this year that's going to kind of carry that much hype into it and then deliver at that level as well. >> Yeah, it delivered, man. That was the thing at the end of the day. Yeah. Yeah, it delivered. Unbelievable match making from Danny Cor. Unbelievable you know, guile from both both athletes. They both bit down on the gum shield and got the job done. So, look, very very impressed by both athletes. And look, can't wait to see Cory McLaughlin cuz we'll touch on what he's doing next. And then Kieran Meighan, hopefully he gets back healthy and we'll get to see him again. Who knows? Maybe he could fight on Gladiator towards the end of the year. Maybe he could be headlining the sort of the end of year show for them. I think he should take a couple of months off after taking a TKO in his first professional fight. But Cory McLaughlin called out Emmet Cor who won in the co-main event. And he fought Ash Williams. He was supposed to fight in Chaos and then he didn't then fought on Gladiator. And turned blood cornered him. Yeah. Uh so, look, Emmet Cor got in there, got the job done in in quick fashion. Uh another another one where he was very close to finishing the fight about two or three times before he actually did finish the fight. Very impressive uh performance from him. Obviously the the Cors and Zack had a really really good night on the night. Obviously around the main event. That stuff That team has a a lot to be proud of. They looked really really good. And look, I don't know. Do I think Cory McLaughlin has maybe too much of a jump for Emmet Cor next? Potentially so. Not not in terms of I don't think he has the skills to do, but I just don't know if it's the smartest match up to go from Ash Williams to Cory McLaughlin. To me, that's a that's a huge jump. But again, like if Gladiator want to book that fight, would I watch it? Absolutely I would. Yeah, well, like just touching on the McLaughlin-Meighan fight. Like but Cory looked just way more experienced in there the way he was throwing the kicks and stuff as well. Like um obviously Cory's fought in PFL, which is like a huge event. Then Meighan making his pro debut. It it like Meighan was sort of like a Tasmanian devil in there. And like Cory was sort of picking his shots more. And then obviously won. But like it was a it was a great scrap. And like Meighan is pure dog. And like Cory does have that sort of star talent as well. And I think Meighan definitely does as well. So, like both lads will go on to have great careers without doubt. And then like touching on the Emmet Emmet Cor as well. Emmet coming out like like he he has the look. He has the the team around him. He has the family support. Like it's The leprechaun shorts are fantastic, aren't they? Yeah. Yeah, I like you see that's the thing you need to stand out in this game. And I think he definitely does. I think it's like such a cool thing to see as well the way his family come out with him as well. It's like you know what I mean? It's cool thing to see. And yes, it was short notice fighting Ash Williams. Like he was originally meant to fight a guy Alessio Salvego, I think it was. And then all of a sudden Ash Williams turns up out of nowhere. So, Yeah, cuz it was it was strange cuz the fight wasn't announced either. But maybe that was to do with him supposed to be fighting in Chaos then fighting here. And look, I'm sure all is well between Chaos and Gladiator. It's not as it's not as if there's bad blood there. It's just more strange carry on by Ash Williams cuz he agreed to fight somewhere and then won't fight somewhere else. That's on him at the end of the day. Danny Cor needs to get Emmet Cor a fight at the end of the day. And he got him the fight. And no one on Chaos missed out by Ash Williams fighting on Gladiator either. They got to rebook that fight as well. So, the most important thing is everyone who needed a fight got a fight. Yeah. That But you know what? It would have been cool to see Jack Cor on the card as well. But look, Emmet got called out by Cory after. Would we watch that? Of course we would. Like the thing is like I don't I don't see Cory fighting on Gladiator again next. I think he's he's going to be back on PFL. I'd like Cage Warriors have to be looking at him as well. Like So, and then I think Emmet said himself he needs like another fight soon. He wants to be 2 and 0 by the end of the year. So, we will see what happens. But great call outs from Blaine McGill and Cory cuz then people are talking about them more. I think that's why these other like shows like Cage Warriors especially not allowing the fighters to get in the mic after doesn't help at all. You know, to build another fight. Whereas like now people are talking about Damien McKenna against Blaine McGill. Like Cory McLaughlin against Emmet Cor. Like you know what I mean? This is just This gets people way more energized. Yeah, well, look, maybe if Cage Emmet Cor. I'm not I'm not I'm not against the fight at all. I just think the the step up from Ash Williams to Cory McLaughlin is immense. Yeah. Well, the thing is like let's let's briefly discuss that before we carry on the rest of the Gladiator talk. P Cage Warriors coming back to Ireland. I think they I say they'll rather go to Belfast. But that's if Paddy McAree is still with the company and can defend his belt there. I think there's more of a chance that happen. But like if Paddy goes to the UFC or Contender Series again, I think they might have the the show in Dublin. Now, who will headline that? I don't know. Maybe you have an answer. Yeah, no, I I I actually 100% agree with you. I think that that is probably the way it it will go. Um In terms of like headliners in Dublin, like they've done it before where it's not a title title fight. But if you want to if you if you want me to say Paddy McAree goes off to the UFC, right? We're just going to cuz we're going to manifest that for him cuz we'd love to see Paddy McAree in the UFC. You want to headline Cage Warriors Dublin. And from the recent match making Cage Warriors has been doing, cuz I feel like they've really upped their game over the last couple of shows. You know, I know Berglund versus Constantinou happened, but give me Adam Darby versus Leon Hill in the main event. That's the fight to make. That's the fight that will get fans excited. That's the fight that will be a main event worthy fight. Both guys are on the cusp of a title shot or a cusp of a Contender Series call out. Look, if they're good if you're good enough to get to the UFC or you're good enough to, you know, fight on PFL at a high level, you should be good enough to beat the other people at Cage Warriors. So, I I I think that's a fight that I would love to see. Guys, just cuz you mentioned that, another fight came into my mind. I I think I think Sean Clancy Jr. is going to get a contender series shot. And then they might actually do James Sheahan against Berne too. In in Dublin for the title. Yeah, I I wouldn't be shocked at that. The only thing is I feel like James Sheahan might be playing around with moving up to middleweight. And also would I be against James Sheahan going straight in for a middleweight title fight at middleweight? Like former welterweight champion Paddy McCorry leaves. You know what I mean? There's definitely a few that like it's not as stacked a division in middleweight. And if you get another name champion like James Sheahan up there I'll be here for it. Yeah. Very interesting times, Ross. Then >> Very interesting times. Let's let's see where Ian Dean and Graham Boylan go next. Exactly, Boylan. Well, we may as well go back to the Gladiator talk, Ross, cuz I'm sure some fighters that were victorious on the night are waiting to hear if you give them a shout out or not, man. Yeah, absolutely. We're going to go to the two title fights next. Two new straps. The first strap's going home to the new FAI HQ. Michael Shields is victorious. He beats Ross George via unanimous decision. And then Thomas Cardigan wins via submission and for the flyweight strap. So we have two new Gladiator champions. Shields versus Ross George was very very back and forth. Split decision there. Cardigan very dominant in that flyweight belt. Our Rowley put up a good scrap, but at the end of the day that guillotine was wrapped up lovely and tight. Vadim O'Rourke is an absolute problem at bantamweight. I feel like he should be fighting for a belt next. He got a massive knockout. I think it was 11 seconds into the fight. Huge. James Wallace from FAI unbelievable as well. That was really really impressive. To knock out Robbie Whitehead is unbelievable. He's he's a very very high-level striker. One of my favorite names, Marty Party Morgan. He picked up the win at Gladiator as well. Rory O'Kane versus O'Shaughnessy. That one went to the decision. One of the judges scored the fight 30-27 to O'Kane. For me, that judge needs to be looked at. That third round was definitely O'Shaughnessy's. I have no doubt about it. Rounds one and two were quite close, but round three, half the round was spent spent in a triangle. O'Shaughnessy had a triangle locked up. So like he like he definitely won that third round. So I don't know what was happening there. But one person I did want to shout out, and Buzz, me and you sometimes rarely watch the curtain jerker when they're novice fights. We might not even turn the stream on yet. But at the stream bottom I'm turning it on. >> [laughter] >> But Callum Core a new Core has entered the chat. He not only entered the fight once, but twice, maybe even three times. Did a double spinning backfist ala Shera Bullet. Unbelievable thing unbelievable scenes. So who knows? Will Callum Core, the latest Core to make their MMA appearance, will he actually end up being the best Core? Who knows, but he looked really really good in there. He put on absolute flurries of strikes. I even text Phil Campbell afterwards saying that must have been a record for the most amount of strikes thrown in a novice MMA bout. It was absolutely sensational stuff to see. So Look, Gladiator unbelievable show. Cory McLoughlin in an absolutely electric atmosphere. Him and Kieran O'Malley absolutely steal the show. Cory McLoughlin, I'd love to see him move on to bigger better shows. Maybe PFL, maybe Cage Warriors, who knows. But he's calling out the winner of the co-main event in Emmett Core who clinically dispatched Ash Williams. And maybe we'll see those two headline the next Gladiator. I wouldn't be against it. You wouldn't be against it. Unbelievable scenes. Former Energized Amateur of the Year Michael Shields brings home a strap. As does Thomas Cardigan with the guillotine finish. They bring them belts home to that shiny new Fight Academy Ireland building. And Callum Core enters the chat as a new Core enters the MMA sphere from ZKJ. So I can't wait to see it. Gladiator, what a show. What a weekend of Irish MMA. Buzz Mall, I was impressed. It was very impressive, man. It was very impressive. This is why I love covering this [ __ ] man. But we also >> another eight out of 10 Eight out of 10? Yeah, let's give it an eight out of 10. It's just when you feel that energy watching it on the screen, you're just like, "Geez, I love this shit." Yeah, I think I think even though it was it was weird the way it happened and not knock anyone, I do think they should have announced Ash Williams versus Emmett Core. It it was strange. I actually think that's the second time I've seen Ash Williams fight in Ireland without being announced that he's fighting. I think I saw him fight previously on Chaos. And he didn't get announced for the fight. Was that against >> be wrong now. It might not be Chaos, but that's that's the second time. Was that against Roland Deegan? Uh potentially. >> [snorts] >> Potentially. I'm not sure, but Like that was strange. May maybe that's a him thing. I don't know. But yeah, weird weird for him to to roll out that way. Yeah, but I look I I like the way Gladiator got O'Malley and McLoughlin facing off as well in the picture. They probably should have got a way 10 out of 10 for that fight. Yeah. Oh, man. Can we let's let's see if that can be beaten this year. So if there is any Irish MMA fighters that are looking to call out an Irish fighter, like can that be beaten? That that will definitely do really well at the Energized end of year awards show. Yeah, who'll be fight of the year? Who'll be fight of the year, man? Definitely round of the year, anyway. Then before we get into this weekend's Elite Fighting Championships 8 that goes down in Cork, we have to give a few shout outs to the fight in Irish. As on Friday the 8th of May UAE Warriors goes down and SBG Cork's Fufu Fares returns as well. He's on a tear with UAE UAE Warriors at the moment. So best of skill to Fufu. And then also on Saturday the 9th of May GB Top Teams very own Sinead O'Neillan fights on GTFP as well. Sinead is on an absolute tear now. Like she had a rocky start to her career. Then also she's doing bare knuckle boxing and then she's like back in the MMA sphere and she's like kicking ass. So best of skill to Sinead O'Neillan. And then also we want to give a shout out to all women's BJJ competition Limitless that goes down on Sunday the 10th as well. So uh shout out to all the girls that are going to compete in that, Ross. But uh We have to get into We have to get into this weekend as Elite Fighting Championships 8 goes down in Cork. And there are three pro fights on the card, Ross. Yeah, there absolutely are. We see some unbelievable athletes. Unfortunately, Chloe O'Sullivan will not be on the card anymore. I was really looking forward to seeing her fight, but we do have three massive fights for Elite Fighting Championships. We're going to start off with Roland Deegan. We saw Roland Deegan fight at purchase. He is an absolute elite talent. I think he he's on the cusp of signing for Cage Warriors. I feel like just the the right event hasn't come around for him. So I think a win here and he will probably fight on one of the end of year sort of September October shows when they do come back to Ireland. He is looking really really good these days. His grappling is really really top tops and his striking is ever improving. So really looking forward to seeing Roland Deegan come come fight night. We'll see a pro debut. Let's say, Ross, is he is Roland going down to flyweight for this one, yeah? I think so, yeah. That's that seems to be the plan. That seems to be the trajectory of his long-term career. Interesting. We'll see the pro debut of C-Mac's own Ross Kearney. We haven't seen Ross Kearney in a hot minute, but we we know he's in the training room all the time with the C-Mac massive. And I think he is definitely someone who I am looking forward to see. He's been around for a long time on the Irish scene. So let's see him get in there and get the job done. I'm definitely forward that he's fighting Leandro Lima in a catchweight fight. And fair play to him cuz at the end of the day I've seen Ross Kearney down at bantamweight down at like 61 kilos. This one's at 68 kilos. And Lima is 16 fights deep into his pro career. So big big big fight for him. And then we're also going to see Maga Zubara fighting out of MMA Cork. Maga's got a real good heavy wrestling style. So let's see if he gets that big big big pop down there from the Cork faithful. But also a few few title fights there as well. Jordan White Ireland versus France in the for the bantamweight title. That should be something to look out for. Non-title fight I don't think, but it is a massive one here going down. It's a K1 fight between Jack Maguire and Ryan Dunleavy. So that'll be interesting. Two guys known for their grappling going toe-to-toe >> [laughter] >> throwing down throwing down there. So look, so some really really big fights going on. I'm looking forward to seeing it, Buzz Mall. I think Crowley's fighting as well. As well. So that's that's another one to watch out for, Michael Crowley. He's he's defending I think his featherweight title. I think it is. So >> well, just looking at the at the posters that they have up like Luke Nadareishvili is taking on Tom Buckley as well. Daniel O'Leary is fighting as well. Another C-Mac plan. Yeah, it's a bit it's a very heavy C-Mac based card as well. Yeah, you'll see you'll see Eric Marque and Henry Lekker are on the card as well. Yeah. And then uh also Barry Kennedy is back. He's taking on Gator Theory. There was another one as well. Rory Burke who like loves a scrap is on this card as well. You already mentioned Henry Lecca, but uh there's a fight here as well. Column Denihy taking on Luke Greena. Oh, big heavyweights. Yeah. Yeah, that's actually in light heavyweight. So, like that's that's what Yeah. And then uh also shout out to the girls. Daniella Doble is taking on Eonela Adam as well. So. >> Yeah, so like massive massive night of fights there, really. Look, obviously it's very rare that we see cards, especially south of the border, be able to put on pro fights. But shout out to Lee Fighting Championships. Three pro fights going down on this card. Unbelievable to see. Roland Deegan, undefeated, massive prospect. Can't wait to see him get in there and get the job done. Zubaira unbelievable stuff from him. Haven't seen him fight in the Irish scene in a hot minute. And Ross Corney making his pro debut from C-Mac. Unbelievable stuff. What a host of other title fights on the card as well. Cronnelly, White, Buki Naradoshvili. That's got my little tip for maybe fight of the night. I think that one could be an absolute barn burner. Daniel Lara back there. We've seen him. And also the likes of Henry Lecca and Barry Kennedy. It's going to be an unbelievable night down in Cork. So, if you are in that region, make sure to go check it out. If not, make sure to buy the pay-per-view link. It should be an absolute barn burner. And if you're looking for the results, you know where to go. Head over to The MMA Road Show. As always, bud. Hopefully Brian Manning makes an appearance on the on commentary as well. Yeah, I think the mohawk's back in a moment. So, he means business. Yeah. Brian Manning is actually scheduled to return on the 6th of June as well on Octagon. So, uh that's going to be very exciting. That's What day is today? The 4th? So, less than a month away. Just over a month away. So, very exciting stuff. Uh Ross, just before we wrap everything up, we have to just finish off on the world of the UFC. Before we discuss this weekend's UFC 328 that goes down in New Jersey, we just have to discuss the main event happening in Perth over the weekend as Carlos Prates defeated Jack Della Maddalena. Ross, I thought Jack Della was going to win this fight. Prates got the win. Um first of all, what did you make of the win? And also looking back now, how big of a win did Ian Garry have over Prates as well? Yeah, I think obviously this is a massive win for Carlos Prates. He seems to be able to put everyone away. He obviously wasn't able to put Ian Garry away, but he's right there on the cusp of a title shot as well, Carlos Prates. I think it's going to be Ian Garry versus um Islam Makhachev next. And then Carlos Prates is waiting in the wings to fight the winner. I wouldn't even be surprised if Carlos Prates booked on that card as the backup, but also fighting someone else. I think Ian Garry is an absolute elite welterweight. I think he's right there at the top of the division. I think he is next in line for a title shot. And I think Carlos Prates, he should be fighting the winner of Garry versus Makhachev. I think that was the biggest win of Prates' career. He's also on an absolute finish streak. He's finished Leon Edwards. He's finished JDM. The fella is absolutely relentless in there. And he was very close to finishing Ian Garry as well. Let's not forget that. So, at the end of the day, I want to see Ian Machado Garry versus Islam Makhachev. And I want to see Carlos Prates fight the winner. I think the welterweight division is really really heating up. And I think a lot of that is thanks to Ian Machado Garry. Yeah. I'd also like to see Prates against um Who's the Kazakhstani guy again? Shavkat. Shavkat Rakhmonov. That's it. Yeah. I don't think we'll be seeing Shavkat for a while. I know. Yeah, I just uh look, I just really like Prates' stand-up game. So, like it it's just to see No way. He looks like he knocks people out. Yeah, just it just be a bit of crack seeing a bit of a knock, you know yourself, Ross. Um we will have a poll out for that as well. See who would you like to see Prates fight next. Uh the chap that the chap lives off of smoking cigarettes and just knocking people out, man. What a combo. Yeah. What a gangster. Yeah. Then, Ross, this weekend UFC 328 goes down in New Jersey as Khamzat Chimaev, the champion, takes on Sean Strickland for the middleweight title. Ross, there's been loads of back and forth about this, mainly from Sean Strickland's side. What do you make of the build-up? And who do you think is going to win this one, man? Look, anytime Sean Strickland fights, he makes headlines. He creates a lot of noise, but he has the perfect dance partner to make headlines here. It's going to be very interesting to see how they react when they come face to face. It's going to be very interesting to see how they react at the press conference in the build-up. One thing I will say is, look, I'm going to pick Khamzat Chimaev to win this fight. I think he's the most one of the most dominant fighters the UFC has ever seen. And especially not only dominant in terms of wins versus loss, but dominant inside the actually inside the octagon. He He's up there with Khabib in terms of level of actual dominance inside there. So, I will say though, Sean Strickland beating Hernandez I think was a big win. And it goes to show that like he can beat a very effective grappler in Frothy Hernandez. I I would have said Hernandez probably would have been Khamzat's toughest opponent uh just in terms of style style matchups that way. But at the end of the day, Sean Strickland went in there and he beat him. And let's see how Sean Strickland fares against Khamzat this time out. For me, I'm going to say Khamzat via submission maybe in the second round. Yeah, I just You know what? I just think this one I'm going to go Chimaev, obviously. But I'm just like I think Chimaev really wants to put damage in this chap. Yeah, probably. Yeah. Yeah, like there's been a lot of talk. Like some stuff we don't want to say in here or else we'll get uh shut up. So, but like look at this. This is a fight not to be missed. I'm definitely going to watch the press conference cuz uh Yeah, politics and religion and family is all brought into this one. No there's no there's no bounds here. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump was there as well, Ross. May as well. >> [laughter] >> Then, Ross, in the co-main event, Joshua Van is taking on Tatsuro Taira. This was originally scheduled to be a few weeks ago, but now this is the co-main for the world flyweight title. Ross, who do you expect to win this one? Yeah, two of the youngest, most talented fighters ever. This must be close to one of the records for the two youngest fighters to ever fight for for the belt. Look, I think I think Joshua Van's going to get the job done here. I felt like he looked like he was really hot on on the streak on the way to beating Pantoja. Obviously, he beat Pantoja in really funky style with the armbar, but I think Joshua Van, as a young fighter, he was really really talented. The confidence that he must have built by becoming the belt champion and having that belt wrapped around his waist, I think he's going to be very hard to beat. And I'm going to say Joshua Van gets the job done here. And I'm going to say either a decision or like a TKO late in the fight. Yeah, that that should be a very good scrap. It's 16 and 2 for Joshua Van against Tatsuro Taira who's 18 and 1. Then, just in a couple of shout outs as well. Alexander Volkov taking on Waldo Cortes-Acosta. I think the height difference that will be actually crazy. Sean Brady taking on Joaquin Buckley. King Green against Jeremy Stephens. That is definitely a scrap not to be missed. Any other shout outs on this as well. Uh Joel Alvarez is taking on Yaroslav Amosov, which is actually like should probably be on the on the main card. And don't want to get shut up by Amosov. That that love. No, like he he could be He could definitely be a contender there in the UFC anyway. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Um Ross, I think that's sort of wraps everything up for all the action that's going down this weekend. Um but there is also boxing as well as um Fabio Wardley is defending his world title against Frazer Clarke. That is the one that is the one that goes down on Saturday night as well. We will also be back next Monday as we build the build-up continues to Sean O'Malley's return to the UFC Octagon. Also that night, Ronda Rousey will be taking on Gina Carano. Nate Diaz against Mike Perry. And also ADCC Ireland returns as well, where we will be as always, Ross. Anything else you want to say to the people tuning in on this beautiful bank holiday Monday? No, just thanks to everyone who does support us. Make sure to like, share, subscribe. And as always, stay energized. The MMA Road Show up the Irish. The MMA Road Show up the Irish. It's the face that runs the place, Chaos Cortez. I want to thank the Irish MMA community so much for getting behind me. You're up the Chaos Cartel.