The UFC is in Dublin Ireland this Saturday, with their Fight Night 76 card. The fights are set to air on the UFC’s Fight Pass, and the main event features Lightweights as Dustin Poirier takes on Joseph Duffy.
The shadow of Featherweight interim champion Conor McGregor is all over this fight. Poirier is considered on of the opponents that was supposed to give McGregor a challenge, but he dispatched him handily. On the other hand, Duffy owns a 38-second wipe out win over McGregor five years ago on a Cage Warriors show. McGregor has made no secret of the fact that he will eventually be going to lightweight, and the winner of this match will come with a natural storyline as an opponent for him. The rematch with McGregor will assuredly make Poirier and Duffy more than they have ever made in their MMA careers, so based on that alone th stakes are super-high in this fight.
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The welterweight co-main event features undefeated European talent as England’s Darren Till (13-0) faces Denmark’s Nicholas Dalby (14-0). Both men remained undefeated on the B-circuit of shows, and they both won their UFC debut matches. The match is a good example of the differences between the UFC’s style of matchmaking and what you see in boxing, as here the organization is going to blemish one of these men’s records in only their second UFC match. In many ways, the tough matchmaking makes the UFC appealing, but a loss will be a major setback to one of these men.
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Cathal Pendred faces Tom Breese in another welterweight fight on the main card. Pendred has a solid 17-3-1 record overall, but he is coming off his first UFC loss. Pendred’s name had come up as a potential opponent for pro wrestler CM Punk when he makes his UFC debut, but he will need to win here. The recent loss, to John Howard, was a setback for Pendred, who saw a four fight winning streak go by the wayside. Despite the four wins, Pendred managed to look wholly average, and the win over him by Howard snapped a three fight losing streak for him. For his part, Breese is a perfect 8-0 coming in, and six of those wins were by submission. The X-factor here is Pendred is fighting at home, and for all his faults, Pendred fights with a lot of emotion and the hometown crowd in Ireland will be raucous when he fights an Englishman.
Another fighter getting some home cooking is Patrick Holohan (12-1-1). Hollohan has worked his way up to a 3-1 record in the UFC’s Flyweight division, as has his opponent Louis Smolka who is 9-1 overall. Because the Flyweight class is short on depth, the winner of this match would be in a good position for a shot at the title, though there next step after this might be a step up fight against a divisional big dog Joseph Benavides or John Dodson.
Check out our latest video blog for all the odds set for the UFC Fight Night 76 this Saturday.
