Aside from Paul Hughes’ looming free agency, one of the main talking points going into Cage Warriors 170 is Team Ryano vying for a Cage Warriors title for the first time since 2013, when the legendary Neil Seery clinched flyweight gold. 

Speaking to Andy Ryan, Petesy discusses the golden era of the sport which occurred around the same time while the infamous Team Ryan boss underlines why he believes the scene has become divided since then. Ryan, one of the founding fathers of the Irish sport, outlines the promise of his latest batch of talent and details why he believes James Sheehan will be ready for the UFC if he secures the Cage Warriors welterweight title at Dublin’s RDS. 

Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion, Chris Fields, also fixes his mind back to the 2013 event. As well as that, the Irish fan favourite acknowledges that his Team KF charges are building back to title contention while also asserting his belief that Irish MMA’s best chance of producing another golden generation will come from all gyms competing against each other, something that hasn’t happened regularly since the early BAMMA events in the country.