With No UFC Plans in Sight, BAMMA Looks to Take Their Show to Ireland

It’s been over two years since the UFC graced the shores of the Emerald Isle, but with no current plans in place to return to Ireland, another promotion is eyeing a show there instead.

Rising British promotion BAMMA, whose next show will be BAMMA 7 in September in England, are in talks to bring a show to Dublin, hopefully sometime in the next 18 months.

BAMMA Vice President Liam Fisher revealed the news when speaking with MMAWeekly Radio.

“It’s funny, we’ve planned our schedule for 2012 and we’re working on 2013 as well at the moment. We want to be totally far ahead, we want to make sure we get the exact dates and venues that we want for our schedule, and the O2 in Dublin is definitely one of the venues we’ve been speaking to,” Fisher stated about the promotion’s intentions to land in Ireland.

Irish fans have been clamoring for a major promotion to come back there after the UFC put on a show in Northern Ireland in 2007 and Ireland in 2009, but have not returned to either since.

UFC president Dana White has talked about going back there many times, but the busy schedule for the promotion hasn’t left a window open to return to Ireland for a couple of years.

For BAMMA it seems like the perfect destination to take their show next door to Ireland and introduce fans to their brand of MMA. Now it’s just a matter of locking down a date and time that will work.

“It’s all about finding the right date and fits with a TV schedule that we can work with in the U.K. But Dublin is definitely on our radar, and we have plans to do a show in Dublin,” Fisher said.

While no date has been set in stone just yet, Fisher says that they are currently in talks with the arena and worst case scenario they will be there by 2013, but are hoping to land there in 2012.

“Yeah absolutely. If it’s not in 2012, it will definitely be 2013, but we’re trying to work something out at the moment for 2012,” said Fisher.

“If we can get the right date, we’ve been talking to the venue, it’s a phenomenal venue. Ireland is a great place and a great following for MMA, and we definitely want to do a show there.”

BAMMA 7 will be the promotion’s next show taking place on Sept. 10 in Birmingham, England at the National Indoor Arena.

Damon Martin is the lead staff writer and radio host for MMAWeekly.com.
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