Ciaran Clarke: Return of the Irish

On November 5th 2021, big time MMA returned to Irish soil as Bellator 270 went down at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, where the famous raucous Irish crowd were at full voice to support hometown favourite Peter Queally as he took on Patricky Pitbull for the Bellator lightweight strap and top Irish prospect James Gallagher take a step up in competition against the highly regarded Patchy Mix.

Although the Irish fans did their best to spur on their fighters in the two top fights of the night, it wasn’t enough, as predicted by the betting sites in Ireland and worldwide, the crowd were left disappointed for their Peter and James but at the same time, happy to be back to somewhat normality after a difficult couple of years since COVID 19 struck.

What many seem to have glossed over, understandably considering the main and co-main event results, is the back and forth fight between Ciaran Clarke and Jordan Barton, a great back and forth battle that saw Clarke battle through some rough positions to secure the come from behind rear naked choke finish in the third round, much to the delight of the Irish faithful in the arena.

Clarke now moves to 4-0 as a professional, but has much more experience in the game than that would lead you to believe. Clarke ironed out kinks in his game during an extensive amateur career spanning 23 fights, with 13 victories while competing in several IMMAF World and European championships, taking on the best amateurs the scene has to offer

Someone else who won’t be under the radar for much longer with performances and victories like hers that night is Danni Neilan.

Danni has also had an extensive and successful amateur career before turning professional back in September 2019. Danni dominated her opponent Audrey Kerouche on her way to what she made look like an easy third round TKO victory to move to 5-0 as a professional.

And with Ian Garry making a successful UFC debut the following day in New York with a beautiful KO, the future remains bright for Irish MMA, although you can be sure there will be knocks and bumps along the way, that’s just the way it is MMA.