The Craic with Petesy Carroll

Ahead of his second fight in the UFC, Kiefer Crosbie returned to discuss how he has changed his mindset after what he described as the best camp of his life. The Dubliner gave insight on the fleeting nature of fandom following his debut loss, the pitfalls of fighters being on social media and how bad he felt ahead of his short notice debut in Australia.  The SBG fighter shed light on how a camp in...

Could Leon Edwards’ be eyeing bout with lightweight champion and a 185-pound title shot prove troublesome for Irish welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry? What the fuss about Shauna Bannon’s short notice opponent Alice Ardelean?  The Trident of Knowledge - featuring Andy Stevenson and Donagh Corby - return to The Craic to break it all down.

U.K. BJJ pioneer and head coach of UFC interim heavyweight champion, Andy Aspinall, returns to The Craic to give us the lowdown on his son’s preparation for Curtis Blaydes at UFC 304.  Having watched the growth of the U.K. scene since it’s inception, Aspinall explains how it feels to see his son at the forefront of what could be a stratospheric moment for the sport on July 27th and gives insight i...

The greatest Brazilian mixed-martial-arts of all time, Guilherme Cruz, returns to The Craic to give us the low-down on the impact Alex Pereira is having in his homeland.  Can Poatan reached the lofty height Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort and Jose Aldo once soared to, or is the lack of a deal with powerhouse network Globo providing a significant obstacle to him achieving. Cruz talks us through Perei...

Former Cage Warriors middleweight champion and head coach of Team KF, Chris Fields returns to The Craic to talk about the muted response to his former fighter Ian Machado Garry’s historic win for Irish MMA at UFC 303.  Fields gives insight into his busy schedule, the magic of Alex Pereira, a busy month for KF in July and ponders whether the lack of coverage for Garry in Irish media is a worrying s...

Petesy is looking forward to Ian Machado Garry’s matchup with Michael “Venom” Page more than any fight on the stacked UFC 303 card. Keeping with the U.K. vs. Ireland theme, he invited his old verbal sparring partner Chisanga Malata back on the show to discuss the meeting.  The lads weigh-in on the pre-fight talk between the two, question whether Garry is setting himself up for a big fall by talkin...

After his massive debut win on Saturday, The Trident of Knowledge (Andy Stevenson & Donagh Corby) assembled to discuss Paul Hughes and the impact Conor McGregor’s presence had on putting him over in his maiden voyage with Bellator/PFL.  The lads give their takes on how McGregor put the Derry man over in the exact way that UFC had hoped he would with Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303, what McGregor gain...

Fight Academy Ireland head coach Liam Shannon gives insight into Paul Hughes’ preparation for his Bellator/PFL debut, sheds light on the current wave of talent at the Belfast gym and considers whether PFL and Bellator have shed the label of being the “SBG Show” with the signing of Hughes.  Shannon also talks Rhys McKee’s next move, Paddy McCorry on the latest season of TUF and the great expectatio...

Considered the hottest free agent in the sport during his time on the market, Paul Hughes is set to make his Bellator/PFL debut on Saturday at 3 Arena against Bobby King.  Petesy interviewed Hughes at Fight Academy Ireland in Belfast where the former Cage Warriors Champion discussed how much his new contract can change his life, his time training with Michael Chandler, being unfollowed by Conor Mc...

The latest word surrounding Conor McGregor’s camp is that the Irish superstar is not likely to make an appearance at UFC 303.  Donagh Corby joins Petesy from Connecticut to give his take on the on again/off again conversation surrounding McGregor’s meeting with Michael Chandler, what the legacy of this period will be for McGregor should he not fight on June 29th, possible replacements fights and h...

Chisanga Malata is back on The Craic to discuss the slew of anguish amongst UFC fans due to the price of UFC Manchester tickets.  The lads react to the online onslaught of fans after tickets were released last week, give their thoughts on the budding bromance between Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall and shed light on how Chisanga didn’t end up in Dublin last week after the cancellation of the UFC 303...

A globetrotting Petesy greets us in the after tremors of UFC 302 and Ariel Helwani Live to share stories of his wild week in Brick City, with a little help from the great “New York” Eric Jackman, of The MMA Hour fame.  Petesy takes us through his journey to the Vox studios, to splitting the G with Frank and GC at the Dead Rabbit, his time at the UFC 302 press conference, his visit to the Helwani a...

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 ou...

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 wee...

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”...

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...

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 c...

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...

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 unit...

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 fr...

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...

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...

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 Hugh...

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...

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 -...