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.

We thought the narrative had changed surrounding the heavyweight title conundrum after Tom Aspinall’s magic performance at UFC 304, but it feels like ever since that night in Manchester Dana White has been on a PR pedestal for Jon “Bones” Jones. 

Chisanga Malata of SunSport returns to wade through the debris of 304 and consider a world where neither Jones nor Stipe Miocic want to fight beyond their Madison Square Garden clash in November. Furthermore, what if Jones continues to fight, but pending victory over Renan Fereirra, Francis Ngannou is next opponent instead? 

We also ponder whether the hopes for an immediate rematch for Leon Edwards are dead and briefly look forward to UFC 305.

The great Philip O’Connor return to The Craic, joining the show from Paris, France, the day after he witnessed Kellie Harrington winning her second Olympic gold medal at the iconic Roland Garros venue. 

The veteran journalist gives a first hand account of the electrifying scenes witnessed in the French capital, provides context as to what the gold medal capture wins and explains why he believes Harrington is one of the countries greatest ever athletes.

Thanks to Red Corner MMA, the Russian sport is more accessible to the western world than ever before. 

The founder and chief contributor to the site, Denis Geiko, joins the show to share the Russian persecutive on Umar Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev withdrawal from UFC 308 and the new Dagestan sensation, Shara Bullet. 

Geiko also contrasts and compares Islam’s career to Khabib’s, discusses how Abu Dhabi’s cards are received in Russia, talks Mokaev’s issues with the UFC and previews future original content that will be available on Red Corner MMA. 

Check them out on IG here - https://www.instagram.com/redcorner.mma/?hl=en

After returning home to Dublin after UFC 304, Petesy gives us the lowdown on his experience in Manchester, his reactions to Dana White insisting there would be no more bonuses beyond 50k and much more. 

Joining the show, Paddy Holohan instantly reacts to becoming the first Irishman to both win a UFC fight and coach someone to winning a UFC fight. Andy Stevenson returns to talk all the big storylines that came out of the Co-op Live on Sunday morning.

Petesy arrived in Manchester early on Thursday morning, interviewing Irish MMA legend Paddy Holohan on the ten-year anniversary of UFC Dublin and discussing his student Shauna Bannon taking up his famed berserker role for UFC 304. 

After a day of media activity, Petesy met up with colleagues Jose Youngs (MMA Fighting) and Abbey Subhan (MMA Junkie) to discuss the many storylines at the event: is Belal’s hatred for Leon Edwards real, will Jon Jones really face the winner of Aspinall vs, Blaydes, Paddy Pimblett’s mental health struggles and much more.

Returning to The Craic, Caolan Loughran is as cool as the other side of the pillow ahead of his UFC 304 clash with short notice replacement opponent, Jake Hadley. 

The Team Kaobon fighter discusses how good it feels fighting so close to his adopted home of Liverpool, how he was inspired to pursue fighting on the back of UFC Dublin in 2014 and how he is relishing a pint of Guinness on Sunday as he watches the All Ireland final.

It’s been over a year since Shauna Bannon made her UFC debut and the Tallaght UFC straw weight is adamant the world will see a host of improvements in her second trip to the Octagon. 

“Mama B” talks personal tests over the last twelve months, being coached by Paddy Holohan who made his debut ten years ago on the historic UFC Dublin card, the outrage surrounding her opponent Alice Ardelean and training alongside Kiefer Crosbie and Molly McCann in preparation for the event.

Ahead of his second fight in the UFC, Kiefer Crosbie returned to discuss how he has changed his mindset after what he described as the best camp of his life. The Dubliner gave insight on the fleeting nature of fandom following his debut loss, the pitfalls of fighters being on social media and how bad he felt ahead of his short notice debut in Australia. 

The SBG fighter shed light on how a camp in Thailand helped he refocus on what’s important and he also shared a story about being a coach on the matt the first day Shauna Bannon - who also features on UFC 304 - started training in the sport.