The Craic with Petesy Carroll

The Craic is back and this week Petesy is zooming in all things UFC Paris. 

One of the foremost voices for the French sport, Guillaume Duseux of trailblazing podcast La Sueur, joins the show to set the table for the big card in the City of Light and explains the explosion in popularity the sport has witnessed in the country since MMA’s legalisation in 2020. 

Following his underdog pick of Merab Dvalishvili bringing home the first perfect parlay for the new era of The Ariel Helwani Show, Petesy speaks to his “Underdog of the Week” Kevin Jousset, who takes on Bryan Battle at the Paris Event. The 2-0 UFC welterweight explains why he went to Scotland to learn to speak English, training with Alex Volkanovski in Australia, moving to City Kickboxing and his pursuit of Ian Machado Garry. 

Petesy details his experience covering an MMA event in Paris and explains why he thinks the popularity of the sport in the country is difficult for the English-speaking community to comprehend.

The Craic with Petesy Carroll goes behind the scenes at the soft launch of The Ariel Helwani Show at the Venetian Sportsbook in Las Vegas, the day before UFC 306. 

A host of the big names from the all-new Uncrowned roster feature with appearances from the man of the moment, Ariel Helwani, his loyal lieutenant New York Ric, the biggest baby face in the industry Conner Burks, the legendary bard Chuck Mindenhall and Uncrowned editor-in-chief, Shaheen Al Shatti. 

Petesy recaps all the thrills and spills of a magical launch in Sin City.

Former PR guru for the UFC, Las Vegas resident and star of the record-breaking Spotify Live show, Ant Evans, returns to The Craic to whet appetites ahead of the UFC 306 card happening this Saturday in Sin City. 

Although Ant has issues with some elements of the promotion of the UFC 306 card, he explains why he is excited to see the capabilities of the Sphere in action, having visited the venue of numerous occasions previously. As a former cornerstone of the UFC promotional team, he gives his take on how Dana feels about lowering the ticket prices and whether the UFC will return to the venue…all while getting chased out of our recording location by on-site security. 

Petesy gives the lowdown on his trip so far.

One of the most beloved fighters in Scotland, Chris Bungard returns to action this weekend where he is seeking redemption for his last outing at Braehead Arena against short notice opponent, and arguably a tougher assignment than his original dance partner, Andrey Augusto. 

Bungard talks about juggling his many roles in life as he frequents duties as a professional wrestler, a podcaster and an actor onto of his fighting career. He also discusses being the elder statesman of the growing Scottish MMA movement, the adoration he receives when he fights at home and describes how he got suspended from school for applying Bret Hart’s patented sharpshooter to classmates back in his school days.

Chisanga Malata of Sun Sport returns to talk about a host of news stories generated from the U.K. scene. 

Is it possible that Paddy Pimblett will be fast tracked into a title situation in a similar way to Sean O’Malley? Is Mo Mokaev’s return to Brave CF slightly underwhelming? And how does Dana White’s continued praise of Jon Jones keep getting weirder?

Exactly a year after their first meeting, Fabian Edwards will get his second crack at Johnny Eblen when they face off at Bellator Champions Series at Bellator London on Sept 14. 

Edwards returns to the show to explain how Eblen’s outburst at the end of their first meeting had no effect on him, how he is motivated by the success he had in the first two rounds of their Dublin clash and why is so confident he will get the job done this time around. 

“The Assassin” also gives his take on why Leon Edwards is seemingly not being considered for an immediate rematch after his loss at UFC 304. 

Also on the show, Petesy rants about Fantasy Football.

Dave Fogarty was a well-known jiu-jitsu competitor and a decorated amateur MMA fighter before he became Conor McGregor’s private photographer. 

This weekend, he makes his first walk as a boxer when he takes on the highly touted “Deen The Great” and despite being an underdog, he is adamant that he is ready to shake up the promotion’s lightweight bracket on Saturday night at 3 Arena.

Following the announcement of The Craic joining the all-new Uncrowned schedule, Petesy talks about his excitement with the new deal and gives us an idea about how things will look for the future of the show. 

The Trident of Knowledge (with Andy Stevenson and Donagh Corby) formed to discuss a massive fight for Brendan Loughnane at PFL 9 in Washington and another huge night for Irish MMA as Invicta champion Danni McCormack once again tries to cement her place in the UFC by taking out one of the rising stars on the Asian circuit, Qihui Yan.

The legendary Brazilian Beast, Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting, returns to The Craic to discuss the somewhat left field booking of Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree, which has earned the ire of light heavyweight contenders Magomed Ankalaev and Jamahal Hill. 

Is the 307 main event “terrible for the sport” as claimed by Hill? Are the UFC trying to protect their “golden goose” by not matching him with Ankalaev? Will the light heavyweight champion really move down to 185 again to challenge Dricus du Plessis and will he be a fixture in the heavyweight title conversation beyond Jon Jones’ upcoming clash with Stipe Miocic. 

Petesy also looks forward to a crucial Irish bout for Invicta champion Danni McCormack.

The mighty Trident of Knowledge with Andy Stevenson and Dongah Corby forms again to wax lyrical on the news that Paul Hughes has a fight with one of the Bellator/PFL ’s biggest stars, A.J. McKee. 

The lads also take on Dana White’s comments about Conor McGregor not fighting in 2024 and ponder whether Leon Edwards vs. Ian Garry is the best fight to make for both the Irishman and the former UFC welterweight champion.