Conor McGregor tells 3e he feels more prepared than ever ahead of UFC® FIGHT NIGHT DUBLIN.

TV3 GROUP RELEASE                                                                              

IMMEDIATE:  Tuesday 15th July, 2014.

 

                                                                    

Conor McGregor tells 3e he feels more prepared than ever ahead of UFC® FIGHT NIGHT DUBLIN.

 

3e will air all of the action Live from the O2 from 8pm this Saturday.

3e is available on 5 on Saorview, Sky 105 and UPC 106.

 

To watch Conor “The Notorious” McGregor and Cathal “The Punisher” Pendred on Ireland AM this morning, click here.

 

UFC stars Conor McGregor and Cathal Pendred were in TV3 today to talk to Ireland AM ahead of their hometown debut in a sold out O2 arena this weekend.

 

Conor “The Notorious” McGregor will take on Diago Brandao this Saturday in what is sure to be a showstopper of a performance. It’ll be the first hometown bout for the Crumlin native and his first return fight since injuring his knee against Max Holloway in August last year.

 

Speaking to Anton Savage and Anna Daly on Ireland AM, Conor said he felt more prepared than ever ahead of Saturday:

 

“I’m fighting Brazilian Diago Brandao. He’s an Ultimate Fighter winner. He’s aggressive, he comes forward, it’s going to be a good fight. I believe I’ll put him away in the first round however. I feel too sharp right now. I’m calm in my mind and I’m prepared in my body so I’m in a good place.”

 

Meanwhile, Cathal “The Punisher” Pendred, who is also making a name for himself in the UFC ranks, will take on Mike King in the preliminary fights on Saturday night.  Cathal is feeling equally confident about Saturday and even joked that had Garth Brooks not been playing Croke Park, they would have no doubt sold out there too.

 

“We sold out in three minutes. We could have had it in Croke Park.

 

“This is my debut fight. I feel more calm and relaxed than I ever have. I feel I belong here and I looking forward to making a statement.”

 

Conor also discussed another fight during his appearance on the TV3 morning show, that of four-year-old Gavin Glynn who is in Texas having life-saving surgery on a rare form of soft tissue cancer.

 

“I swear to God, I met the kid and he was running around the gym. He was only after being in Our Lady’s Hospital and he was running around with so much energy, I was actually inspired by this kid.

 

“This is a wonder kid and they call him Super Gavin Glynn but he’s over in Texas having the fight of his life. He is a true fighter so I’d like to give a shout out to young Gavin Glynn, keep fighting.”

 

Although the UFC® Fight Night Dublin is a sold out show, MMA fans will not miss out on the action as 3e will broadcast live from the O2 from 8pm. It’s the first time ever a UFC event will be broadcast to a terrestrial audience in Ireland.

 

TV3 Group Head of Sport, Kieran Holden, said: “We are thrilled to be able to broadcast Conor McGregor’s homecoming bout for UFC’s Dublin event on 3e, this Saturday. Conor’s progress through the MMA ranks has been phenomenal and we are delighted that we are able to show this event to his growing fan base here live and for free on 3e and online via the 3player.”

 

3e is available on 5 on Saorview, Sky 105 and UPC 106.

 

To celebrate UFC® FIGHT NIGHT DUBLIN, TV3 and 3e have been broadcasting a number of dedicated features and programmes in the run up to the event this Saturday 19th July.

 

3e will tomorrow night air Barbaric Gentleman, a documentary charting the rise of Mike Sheridan, former editor of JOE.ie from a complete novice to competitive cage fighter over the space of 13 weeks training. With an insight into the Irish MMA scene and the people who train in it, contributions from the up and coming Cathal "The Punisher" Pendred, renowned coach John Kavanagh of SBG gym Ireland, Ash "The Bash" Daly, UFC superstar Conor "The Notorious" McGregor and the head of the UFC himself Dana White, this documentary from a journey of grit and determination, endurance and bravery to also showing that the people who train in this often misunderstood sport are so much more than what may be perceived.

 

For more info on this weekend’s fight night visit:  www.3eTV.ie/UFC

 

ENDS

 

 

For further information
Ciara Byrne – Press Officer – 01 419 3329/087 319 9732

Jean O’Donovan – Press & Publicity Assistant – 01 419 3428

Sharon McHugh – Head of Press & Publicity – 087 922 4143

publicity@tv3.ie                        
www.tv3.ie

 

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About Ultimate Fighting Championship®

Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Beijing, Singapore and Sao Paulo, the UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries to 800+ million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a variety of multi-year broadcast agreements with some of the biggest networks throughout Europe, including BT Sport, TV12, C More, Abu Dhabi Media, Setanta and RTL9. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS™, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. UFC also owns over 100 UFC GYM® locations, UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT™ (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC 360 (the internationally distributed magazine), a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, best-selling DVDs and Blu-rays, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, Octagon™ branded apparel and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit www.UFC.com and follow UFC at www.Facebook.com/UFC and Twitter: @UFC.

 

About TV3 / 3e

Launched in 1998, TV3 is the largest commercial channel in Ireland with an 11% market share for Adults 15+, reaching over 2.7 million individuals each week and over 3.5 million individuals each month. TV3 has a bigger market share for Adults 15+ than BBC1, UTV, Channel 4 and Sky 1 combined.

TV3 Group remains Ireland’s only free-to-air national commercial broadcast company, a status which allows them to represent and provide for viewers independently and without vested interests. The network continues to differentiate itself through an emphasis on Irish and home produced programming, with approximately 40% of its current schedule produced in Ireland.

Today, TV3 Group has firmly established itself as the leader in TV entertainment in Ireland. While TV3 strikes the perfect balance between light hearted fun, home-grown daytime viewing and authentic original programming, its sister channel 3e, targets a slightly younger audience, and has a bigger share of Adults 15-34 than UTV, BBC2 and E4.

 

Year on Year, 3e is up +5.3% for Adults 15+ (2.07% to 2.18%) and an even more impressive +8.3% for Adults 15-44 (2.29% to 2.48%). (May 2014 versus May 2013).

Programming successes include The Graham Norton Show (141,000/9.11% share), The Big Bang Theory (96,900/6.43% share) and UEFA Europa League (96,600/6.41% share) as well as home produced shows like fyi, Uploaded, Nadia Goes to Hollywood and Newsbag, Ireland’s first animated adult comedy series.