Ranking All 7 Irish Fighters in the UFC Right Now
Spoiler alert: Conor McGregor is No. 1.
But don't let that spoil the fun. There are six other fighters on this list who hail from the Emerald Isle, and in honor of this weekend's UFC Fight Night 76 going down from Dublin, we shall now rank them all in order.
Plenty has been made of MMA's so-called "Irish invasion," and with McGregor at the helm, it's fully realized. Along with the UFC interim featherweight champion in McGregor, you have several promising and prominent competitors in the UFC and beyond.
Here's a ranking of the seven best. They are ranked based on record, strength of competition, skill set and future potential.
Honorable Mention: Norman Parke
1 of 8
Lightweight Norman Parke (20-4-1) is a serviceable UFC fighter and appears on the main card of this Saturday's UFC Dublin card against Reza Madadi.
However, Parke hails from Northern Ireland, which is technically part of Great Britain. As such, he is ineligible for this list.
7. Paul Redmond
2 of 8
Division: Featherweight
Record: 10-6 (0-2 UFC)
Camp: Team Ryano MMA
About a year ago, Paul Redmond arrived in the UFC behind not-substantial hype. It hasn't gone his way since.
Matchmakers did Redmond no favors by handing him super-prospect Mirsad Bektic in his debut. Redmond lost by lopsided decision but not before missing weight by four pounds.
Last July in Glasgow, Redmond, who is primarily a submission specialist, found himself in a striking battle with Robert Whiteford. He lost by first-round knockout.
If he's not released first, it's probably do-or-die for Redmond in his next engagement.
6. Aisling Daly
3 of 8
Division: Strawweight
Record: 15-6 (1-1 UFC)
Camp: SBG Ireland
Aisling Daly has had a rough ride. Once touted as one of the best grapplers in the women's bracket at 115 or 125 pounds, she has yet to really get it going in the UFC.
Daly thoroughly outmatched Alex Chambers on the Ultimate Fighter 20 finale before dropping a decision to Randa Markos in April.
She's a slight favorite to edge Ericka Almeida this Saturday in Dublin. Though she seems popular enough to stave off release no matter what happens, a win is probably a good idea over another dangerous submission fighter in Almeida.
5. Cathal Pendred
4 of 8
Division: Welterweight
Record: 17-3-1 (4-1 UFC)
Camp: SBG Ireland
As little as fans might have expected this just a couple of years ago (when Cathal Pendred was considered the second-best fighter from Ireland), here he is.
Why is Pendred ranked so low, you ask? After all, his record is pretty good.
If the Irish truly are lucky, this is the glaring example on this list. Pendred benefited from a terrible decision win over Sean Spencer and probably got the same over Gasan Umalatov as well.
Throw in his fan-unfriendly style (think dirty boxing without the boxing) that tends to lead to close decisions, and you have a clear explanation of his status.
He has a tough test Saturday in undefeated young Englishman Tom Breese.
4. Neil Seery
5 of 8
Division: Flyweight
Record: 15-11 (2-2 UFC)
Camp: Team Ryano MMA
Tired of SBG Ireland hogging the headlines? Throw your weight behind Neil "2Tap" Seery, the top fighter out of Team Ryano MMA.
The gritty Dubliner makes every contest into a scrap. That's right; Seery will punch a fighter in the mouth, and he doesn't mind taking his opponent's best punch to do so.
Seery doesn't have what you might call stopping power, but he does have a solid chin and a veteran's arsenal of shifty moves, making him a tough out for anyone.
3. Paddy Holohan
6 of 8
Division: Flyweight
Record: 12-1-1 (3-1 UFC)
Camp: SBG Ireland
If Pendred is in a decline, gym-mate Paddy Holohan is counterbalancing him with an upswing.
After a big upset loss to Chris Kelades a year ago, Holohan has rebounded with two wins in 2015.
Holohan, who is most comfortable on the ground (eight submission wins), will have to be on the other side of the underdog equation this Saturday if he wants to make it three in a row at the expense of well-rounded up-and-comer Louis Smolka.
2. Joseph Duffy
7 of 8
Division: Lightweight
Record: 14-1 (2-0 UFC)
Camp: Tristar
Give it up for Joseph "The Last Person to Beat Conor McGregor" Duffy.
Not to take anything away from Duffy's toughness, his terrific record to date, his solid boxing pedigree or anything else, but come on. That 2010 win over McGregor has got to look like a winning lottery ticket these days.
It has to be a factor in why the UFC picked him up and is fast-tracking him to the top. Though McGregor is currently competing at 145 pounds, he has spoken repeatedly about a desire to fight at lightweight, where he held a belt in Europe's well-regarded Cage Warriors promotion.
Hard to think of a better welcome wagon than the last man to hand him an L. There will be soundbites.
In the meantime, Duffy gets a chance to shine in front of a reasonably large audience when he takes on a very dangerous Dustin Poirier in Saturday's main event.
It airs on the UFC Fight Pass subscription streaming service in the U.S., but still. Good stuff.
1. Conor McGregor
8 of 8
Division: Featherweight
Record: 18-2 (6-0 UFC)
Camp: SBG Ireland
And now for the anticlimax.
You have to hand it to McGregor. He started this whole thing and, with the exception of Ronda Rousey, is the most famous MMA fighter in Ireland or anywhere else at the moment.
His time coaching TUF opposite Urijah Faber (who he'll probably never fight) has been a little anticlimactic in its own right. But that should ramp up rather dramatically as December 12 and his date with Jose Aldo begin to draw near.
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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