The Craic with Petesy Carroll

Michael Venom Page had a perfect introduction to his new promotion at UFC 299. From his spectacular homage to the Undertaker in his entrance, to his signature showboating in the Octagon and his unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland, it went about as well as it could. 

However, in the post-fight press conference, Dana White underlined that he wasn’t a fan of his ringwalk and disclosed that he must “match-make the right way” for his next clash. 

The great Chisanga Malata of SunSport returns to give his take on the Londoner’s big debut and on the verbal agreement between interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes verbally agreeing to a rematch, which would likely take place on the rumoured UFC Manchester card in late July.

The stoppage in the main event of PFL Paris may have been the least interesting thing Petesy experienced on his trip to the City of Light. 

Petesy gives his take on the passion of the fan base, the (wild) enthusiasm of the media and explains why he feels MMA has gone mainstream in France in a way that it never did in the U.K. and Ireland. He also explains why Paris to PFL is on a much bigger scales than Bellator’s celebrated Dublin shows. 

Obviously, the event finished in disappointing fashion with Marc Goddard waving off the main event in the third round after Cedric Doumbé gestured to his foot on two occasions. Petesy spoke to the legend, Dan Hardy, about the stoppage, about what’s happening in Paris and so much more.

Cedric Doumbé’s debut for PFL in Paris last year was one of the great moments of 2023. In his first showcase since, the kickboxing champion looks to remain undefeated when he clashes with an opponent from his old stomping ground, MMA Factory, who also represents the toughest test of his MMA carer to date, the undefeated Baysangur “Baki” Chamsoudinov. 

The great Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie returns to shed light on the French scene, Paris becoming PFL’s marquee event, Doumbé growing fan base and how important a win is for the superstar in front of his hometown support. Hannoun also discusses Jason Jackson implanting himself in the conversation to fight Doumbé next coming off his statement win at PFL vs. Bellator in Saudi Arabia.

Ilia Topuria has become an overnight sensation in Spain on the back of his UFC 298 title win over Alexander Volkanovski. Since returning home he has been received by the President of Spain, been given a hero’s welcome at the Santiago Bernabéu and has had record-breaking appearances on one of Spain’s most beloved primetime TV shows. 

The great Gonzalo Campos, commentator for UFC on Eurosport and the presenter of Generacion MMA, joins The Craic from his home in Madrid to give us the lowdown on Topuria’s popularity, the possibility of a UFC event at Santiago Bernabéu and much more.

Friend of the podcast, Philip O’Connor, is one of the most experienced sports journalists Ireland has ever produced. Having covered stars from all different backgrounds on the biggest stages in the world - including World Cups and Olympic Games - we ask, what must Ian Machado Garry and his team do to win back favour among the Irish fan base and Irish media? 

O’Connor discusses where the Irishman’s PR has gone wrong in the past, what side of himself he should highlight in interviews, and most importantly, how saveable this situation is despite his current situation.

After his sensational debut on The Craic last week ahead of Ilia Topuria’s title capture at UFC 298, Danny Segura of Hablemos MMA and MMA Junkie returns from Mexico City to discuss the implications of Yair Rodriguez’s showdown with Brian Ortega in the co-main event of this weekend’s UFC card. 

Segura gives insight into the reaction amongst Hispanic MMA fans in the aftermath of Topuria’s title capture, talks about the growing beef between Yair and the new champ and gives his take on how big UFC’s debut in Spain could be with Topuria as champion.

The fantastic Dublin duo of Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson return to The Craic to give their thoughts on Ian Machado Garry’s UFC 298 performance. 

The trio - who would prefer to be referred to as “The Trident of Knowledge” hence forth - discussed Machado Garry’s appearance on The MMA Hour, the need for him to engage broader Irish media outside of the MMA bubble, his potential return to Dublin, and what opponent they would prefer for his next outing, Colby Covington or Sean Brady?

Donagh Corby returns to The Craic to discuss whether Ian Garry is gaining the same traction among Irish MMA fans compared to the country’s other UFC charges. 

The D15 duo give their thoughts on Garry’s clash with Geoff Neal, contemplate the Dubliner’s readiness for the Anaheim date compared to his last scheduled outing with Vicente Luque amidst the social media storm that surrounded him, and consider whether doing more media with Irish publications would help bolster interest nationally in his career.

The great Danny Segura of the Hablemos MMA Podcast and MMA Junkie joins Petesy Carroll to discuss how Ilia Topuria has become a star in his adopted home of Spain.

Segura discusses how Topuria has garnered mainstream coverage nationally and how his dreams of competing at the home of Real Madrid, Santiago Bernabéu, may be a reality. 

With pound-for-pound great Alexander Volkanovski standing between Topuria and UFC gold, could the challenger snatching gold make him the biggest European star the promotion has seen since Conor McGregor?

Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie has given the French MMA scene a bigger spotlight than anyone across the major MMA publications. 

Joining the The Craic this week, she gives her take on Paris being the new capital of European MMA and debates whether PFL’s Cedric Doumbé is more popular than former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou nationally. The veteran reporter also highlights how the sport of MMA has garnered mainstream coverage in France, despite it only becoming legal in 2020.

Petesy take us behind the scenes of an upcoming project he is working on with surging apparel powerhouse, Montirex, which will focus on the crown jewel of U.K. MMA, Leon Edwards.

Rhys McKee returned to The Craic to discuss his March 30th date with seasoned veteran Chidi Njokuani who returns to welterweight for the first time since 2016 when they meet in Atlantic City. 

McKee shares his feelings on becoming father, the Irish contingent that are said to be arriving in Atlantic City to support him and Caolan Loughran and the tragic injury of teammate Ryan “Chaos” Curtis. 

For more information on Ryan and to contribute to his GoFundMe, please click the link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9d4bc-treatment

Caolan Loughran was dealt an almighty swich-a-roo in his UFC debut last September in Paris which resulted in his first professional defeat. 

Now, booked for his sophomore outing against Angel Pacheco in Atlantic City on March 30, he has ventured to Arizona for a three-week training camp at Fight Ready, the stomping ground of UFC champions like Henry Cejudo and Deiveson Figueiredo. 

The Tyrone man discussed his time in Arizona, being motivated by his first loss, stealing the show in Arizona and much more. 

Irish flyweight Ryan Curtis suffered a career-ending injury and needs your help. Read his story and donate if you can: https://www.gofundme.com/f/9d4bc-treatment

After their lofty aspirations for the proposed UFC Manchester in July, Petesy Carroll welcomed back U.K. journalist Chisanga Malata so they could walk back their hopes of joint headline event with Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall at the top of the bill. 

Following the devastating news of Irish flyweight Ryan Curtis suffering a career-ending injury last week, Petesy recalls covering the Dubliner’s career and gives an overview of the situation he is now facing. He also describes how the Irish MMA community have rallied around Curtis due to his close friend Leah McCourt going public with the information on Saturday. 

To read more about the situation or to help out with a donation, please click the link below. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/9d4bc-treatment

Six months ago, it felt like a UFC Dublin event in 2024 was bound to happen. Now, at the turn of the year, it seems highly unlikely that the UFC will return to mark the tenth anniversary of the historic 2014 show which marked the emergence of Conor McGregor as a household name and the greater Irish Invasion for the promotion. 

Petesy is joined by Irish media stalwarts Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson to discuss the likelihood of UFC returning this year, the importance of Ian Garry’s next fight and the return of Conor McGregor.

Ahead of his meeting with Tyson Fury, the boxing world ridiculed Francis Ngannou’s involvement in what they believed was a “gimmick” fight. Now, with the Anthony Joshua clash booked, Gavan Casey of the42.ie returns to discuss how Ngannou’s knockdown of Fury changed everything and how he could become number one contender to the heavyweight title with a win over AJ. 

Casey also discusses why boxing people have embraced Ngannou and gives his take on Saudi’s involvement in boxing, how it’s become commonplace for events to take place there and how the muted atmosphere of the events could effect the legacy of the bouts that take place in the region.

Following Leon Edwards’ successful title defence against Colby Covington, Petesy is joined by one of the best in the business, Chisanga Malata, who was at T-Mobile Arena to cover UFC 296 on Saturday night. 

Chisanga relives shocking remarks made at both UFC press conferences during the week, gives his take on UFC Manchester speculation and how impressed he was by defending UFC champion Leon Edwards.

Petesy is joined by UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards ahead of his UFC 296 clash with Colby Covington. 

“Rocky” discusses life as a champion, Colby Covington’s last chance at UFC gold, Donald Trump hoping he loses, Ian Garry and the rumoured UFC Manchester card. 

Petesy gives his take on the UFC Manchester rumours, talk quietening down on UFC Dublin and the highly anticipated UFC 296 press conference on Thursday.

Petesy Carroll is joined by Donagh Corby, Andy Stevenson and Dylan Tuke at 3 Arena to discuss PFL's inaugural Dublin event. 

Corby and Stevenson give their highlights of the night and Tuke talks his successful return to his hometown and being one of the big takeaways from the event. Petesy explains why the rest of the scene, outside of SBG, feel like PFL has become "The SBG Show" and how that may effect the promotion's growth in Ireland.