UFC bantamweight and former Cage Warriors champion Caolan Loughran returns to the Craic on the back of collecting his first promotional win at Atlantic City and on the back of his UFC Manchester clash against Ramon Tavares being announced. Loughran discusses the atmosphere among the Irish for his win over Angel Pacheco, being live on the scene as Paul Hughes reacted to Ray Sefo letting the cat out of the bag about his PFL signing, the impact of McGregor’s return and the Irish contingent at UFC Manchester.

The Trident of Knowledge - Petesy Carroll, Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson - formed to breakdown a massive week of news. After teasing the news for a week on The Craic, Petesy and the lads discuss the announced UFC 303 press conference in Dublin on June 3rd where Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler will face off at 3 Arena. The Trident also weigh-in on the video of McGregor partying over the weekend and give their thoughts on whether it is concerning given that his meeting with Chandler is just five weeks away.

Severe MMA and The Auld Triangle reporter Andy Stevenson returns to The Craic to discuss Conor McGregor’s latest interview with The Mac Life.Do Petesy and Andy believe that McGregor will re-sign with the UFC to fight three times in 2024, and fight Nate Diaz in their trilogy fight at The Sphere. Following his early report on Tuesday’s episode, Petesy sheds more light on the “special announcement” that was teased during The Mac Life interview with Oscar Willis.

There are an abundance of Irish UFC fighters booked for action in close proximity between UFC 303 and 304. The last time this happened in the Summer of ’23, there was genuine conversations within UFC HQ about a UFC Dublin event, so could we rekindle hopes of UFC marquee in the Irish capital should we bank a few wins? As far as Petesy has heard, even without Ian Machado Garry and MVP happening at UFC 304, there will be AT LEAST three Irish fighters booked for action on that card. Caolan Loughran and Shauna Bannon are already set for action, and there should be one more fight confirmed in the coming weeks for the Irish. Petesy gives his take on the back and forth between Garry and MVP, shares his thoughts on a busy weekend of fights and discusses the heavyweight undisputed fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk from Saudi Arabia.

Petesy is joined Bloody Elbow reporter and the host of Wanna Fight About It, Donagh Corby, from Paris where is on site covering the Bellator Champion Series event that will se Cedric Doumbé look to avenge his first career loss. Petesy and Donagh also discuss Ian Machado Garry and MVP, Garry wanting to compete at UFC 303 and MVP seemingly wanting the fight to take place at UFC 304, and the Irish charges Shauna Bannon and Caolan Loughran competing at UFC Manchester. Petesy also provides an update on the Co-op Live arena, which is scheduled to host UFC Manchester, following its official opening on Tuesday.

After all of my belly-aching about the issues with the venue that is scheduled to host UFC Manchester, The Co-op Live is now set for it’s official launch on Tuesday May 14th. Chisanga Malata of Sun Sport joins the show to discuss all the concerns surrounding the venue, whether UFC have a contingency plan if things continue to go badly for the arena and Manchester’s own Lerone Murphy who headlines a UFC Apex event against Edson Barbosa this weekend.

The U.S. start times for July 27’s UFC Manchester card should be the least of fans’ worries as the Co-op Live venue, the arena that is set to host the event, has been embroiled in a “fiasco” which has seen multiple high-profile concert cancelled. Petesy gives a timeline of what has happened with the arena, from gigs being cancelled as fans stand in line to gain admission, to air conditioning units falling from the rafter and the general manager of the project stepping down from his role. As well as the UFC Manchester talk, Petesy looks back on a rough night in Rio for European fan favourites and discusses his shoutouts from Ariel Helwani, Dan Hardy and Paul Hughes on the latest episode of The MMA Hour.

Did UFC pack 299 and 300 with Brazilian stars to the point that they couldn’t possibly deliver a massive card in Rio this weekend for UFC 301? How much would Alex Pereira’s presence help the card and is Ian Machado Garry being embraced by the Brazilian people? “The Brazilian Beast,” also known as legendary MMA Fighting journalist Guilherme Cruz joins The Craic to give us a view from the ground from The City God. He explains how some promotions have been running in Rio to help put asses in seats, how he sees the event as a potential changing of the guard for the “King of Rio” moniker from Jose Aldo to Alexandre Pantoja and his great fear of interviewing Paul Craig.

Paul “The Big News” Hughes returns to The Craic to reveal his dance partner for his PFL/Bellator debut, which will take place on June 22 at Dublin’s 3 Arena, the Irishman’s first appearance at the celebrated arena. Hughes discusses how it felt when the news of his signing was dropped in the middle of the night during the post-fight press conference for PFL’s recent Chicago event, how the deal he struck with PFL can change his life and why, despite being offered a contract with the UFC, he chose to go a different path. The Fight Academy Ireland prospect also teases his PFL manifesto which he plans to reveal in the aftermath of his debut outing on June. 22.

The booking of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson at Cowboy Stadium has coveted more outrage than any of Paul’s previous boxing adventures. Yet, the co-main event of the marquee belongs to Ireland’s beacon of sporting success, Katie Taylor, and her 2022 Madison Square Garden counterpart, Amanda Serrano. One of boxing journalism’s finest, Gavan Casey of the42.ie, returns to The Craic to discuss the bizarre dichotomy of a pure sporting clash between Taylor and Serrano and what many see as a freakshow in Tyson vs. Paul. Casey gives his take on the highly controversial booking, and despite his own disinterest in the contest, concedes that it is a massive opportunity and payday for Taylor and Serrano. He also gives his take on the optics of Taylor and Serrano playing chief support to Paul and Tyson and weighs in on Sean McComb being the target of a blatant robbery following his contest Arnold Barboza Jr. last week.

PFL flexed their financial muscle with the signing of Paul Hughes over the weekend, but will the UFC continue to allow top their talent like the Irishman, Cedric Doumbé and reportedly Salahdine Parnasse slip through their fingers? The Trident of Knowledge - featuring Severe MMA’s Andy Stevenson and Bloody Elbow’s Donagh Corby - forms to the discuss all of the permutations to PFL’s capture of Hughes including how successful he will be when he joins the tournament in 2025 and when we will likely see him debut. Petesy also gives his thoughts on making Dana White’s latest media hit post. Check out Andy Stevenson on “The Auld Triangle” with Ian O’Neill and Caoilte de Barra here: https://open.spotify.com/show/7EOp09CEbauigbtPVvUx7Y?si=704b1600a7bd43d8 Check out Donagh Corby’s all new "Wanna Fight About It?” podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/5SfrCrjisX2k2H9eEa3hCv?si=4271338aaff54588

SunSport journalist Chisanga Malata and Petesy have been discussing a potential UFC Manchester event since December on The Craic, but the event is yet to be confirmed. With Tom Aspinall present at UFC 300, and Chisanga on site at the event reporting, it felt like it was an open goal to announce the date that has been rumoured for the all-new Co-op Live arena. Chisanga and Petesy discuss what the holdup has been, if they’re still confident Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall will be on the card, the emerging storyline between Aspinall and Alex Pereira and Bobby Green declaring interest in a clash with Paddy Pimblett.

Petesy is joined by U.K. correspondent for The Craic, the legendary Sun Sport journalist, Chisanga Malata, to discuss his experience at UFC 300, that Max Holloway finish and the muted Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler announcement. With both lads hearing that McGregor had signed for the bout during the week, they were surprised - given the ample opportunities throughout the massive fight week - that the Irishman’s return was announced in such a quiet fashion by Dana White at the post-fight press conference. Is this evidence that UFC no longer want to give “The Notorious” special treatment, and is it a sign of things to come between the organisation and its biggest star as he approaches the end of his current deal?

Following a drama-filled weekend for Petesy at Cage Warriors 170, the promotion’s president Graham Boylan reached out and the situation is now resolved. Petesy shares the timeline of events which led to the mending of the relationship, which will see him happily continue to cover the European organisation in the future. After that, the Trident of Knowledge forms, with Donagh Corby and Andy Stevenson returning to the show discuss free agent Paul Hughes’ courting offers from multiple major promotions in his first days as a free agent and also the free agency statuses of KSW champion Salahdine Parnasse and Invicta champion, Danni McCormack.

Petesy recaps a weekend where he was banned from Cage Warriors 170, became the subject of a baffling “gag”, jousted for his event credential and ultimately witnessed a fantastic night for Irish MMA. Petesy recaps his online and in-person interactions with Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan and speaks to newly crowned welterweight champion James Sheehan, the hottest free agent in the sport Paul Hughes, former Cage Warriors champions Neil Seery and Joe McColgan, and FAI coaches Liam Shannon and Pat McAlister.

Aside from Paul Hughes’ looming free agency, one of the main talking points going into Cage Warriors 170 is Team Ryano vying for a Cage Warriors title for the first time since 2013, when the legendary Neil Seery clinched flyweight gold. Speaking to Andy Ryan, Petesy discusses the golden era of the sport which occurred around the same time while the infamous Team Ryan boss underlines why he believes the scene has become divided since then. Ryan, one of the founding fathers of the Irish sport, outlines the promise of his latest batch of talent and details why he believes James Sheehan will be ready for the UFC if he secures the Cage Warriors welterweight title at Dublin’s RDS. Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion, Chris Fields, also fixes his mind back to the 2013 event. As well as that, the Irish fan favourite acknowledges that his Team KF charges are building back to title contention while also asserting his belief that Irish MMA’s best chance of producing another golden generation will come from all gyms competing against each other, something that hasn’t happened regularly since the early BAMMA events in the country.

Paul Hughes not being signed by the UFC has been one of the great mysteries on the European scene for the past number of years.Ahead of his first round knockout of Jan Quaeyhaegens at Cage Warriors 161, Hughes revealed that he had turned down a short notice debut with the promotion and an opportunity to compete on TUF due to injury.Now, before he headlines Cage Warriors 170 in Dublin this Saturday, Hughes reveals his showdown with short notice replacement with Edgar Escarrega will be the last on his Cage Warriors deal and he fully intends to explore all offers that will be put to him. Hughes discusses the excitement he has going into free agency, how he’d be interested in being Ireland’s answer to Cedric Doumbé, how he feels about the UFC and his experiences with Cage Warriors.

Former Cage Warriors champions Caolan Loughran and Rhys McKee join The Craic ahead of must-win fights at UFC Atlantic City. Rhys McKee discusses being away from his new-born daughter for the first time, why he is particularly excited about fighting Chidi Njokuani and how this camp feels different to he previous ones. Caolan discusses the influx of supporters he expects in Atlantic City, including a GAA team and many more from Philadelphia, New York and San Francisco.

On The Craic, we’ve previously heard about what Ilia Topuria means to Spanish MMA and the broader Hispanic MMA community, but we have never got the perspective from his true homeland, Georgia. Today, Petesy is joined by celebrated Georgian mixed-martial-arts journalist, Giorgi Kokiashvili of Setanta Sports, to discuss how the sport has exploded in the small nation, which has a population of just 3.7 million people. Giorgi takes us behind the scenes of his viral social media posts showing people up in the early hours to celebrate Ilia Topuria’s title capture over Alexander Volkanovski. He also gives insight into Ilia’s homecoming, where 5000 people welcomed him home at the national airport and over 51,000 soccer fans lauded him at a recent home game against Luxembourg. Too add to that, Giorgi answered Petesy’ prying questions about how Georgian people feel about Ilia’s association with Spain and, who is beloved more, Ilia or bantamweight number one contender, Merab Dvalishvili?

Another road edition of The Craic saw Petesy pull a 19-hour shift, part of which he was joined by Donagh Corby as they embarked on a trip up north for Bellator Belfast.Petesy speaks to the legendary Dan Hardy, number one contender to Johnny Eblen's middleweight crown Fabian Edwards, Irish boxing royalty Mick Conlan and the Score's Nick Baldwin. He recaps all the thrills and spills from the event with his trusty D15 confidant Corby, including Corey Anderson's title capture after claiming victory over Belfast native, Karl Moore.