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.

Could Leon Edwards’ be eyeing bout with lightweight champion and a 185-pound title shot prove troublesome for Irish welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry? What the fuss about Shauna Bannon’s short notice opponent Alice Ardelean? 

The Trident of Knowledge - featuring Andy Stevenson and Donagh Corby - return to The Craic to break it all down.

U.K. BJJ pioneer and head coach of UFC interim heavyweight champion, Andy Aspinall, returns to The Craic to give us the lowdown on his son’s preparation for Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304. 

Having watched the growth of the U.K. scene since it’s inception, Aspinall explains how it feels to see his son at the forefront of what could be a stratospheric moment for the sport on July 27th and gives insight into his son’s preparation. 

Andy also weighs in on the current situation with Jon Jones, the undisputed champion, seemingly unwilling to allow Aspinall to attempt to unify the titles.

The greatest Brazilian mixed-martial-arts of all time, Guilherme Cruz, returns to The Craic to give us the low-down on the impact Alex Pereira is having in his homeland. 

Can Poatan reached the lofty height Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort and Jose Aldo once soared to, or is the lack of a deal with powerhouse network Globo providing a significant obstacle to him achieving. Cruz talks us through Pereira’s origin story and explains why he believes heavyweight is his natural next port of call. 

As well as that, Cruz discusses his recent trip to Sao Paulo where he witnessed a training session at Chute Boxe featuring Ian Machado Garry.

Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion and head coach of Team KF, Chris Fields returns to The Craic to talk about the muted response to his former fighter Ian Machado Garry’s historic win for Irish MMA at UFC 303. 

Fields gives insight into his busy schedule, the magic of Alex Pereira, a busy month for KF in July and ponders whether the lack of coverage for Garry in Irish media is a worrying sign for the Irish sport in 2024.