The Craic with Petesy Carroll

Petesy goes solo on this episode to speak about what appears to be the final Bellator Dublin event.  Fresh off his vacation, our fearless host presented Montirex: Live in Dublin on Friday night with special guests Leon Edwards, Brendan Loughnane, Mick Conlan and Belters Only. Petesy speaks about the experience and his interactions with the fighters.  He also gives his thoughts on Saturday night’s...

Fabian Edwards returns to The Craic ahead of the biggest fight of his life as he challenges undefeated Johnny Eblen for his middleweight crown at Dublin’s 3 Arena in the main event of Bellator 299.  Edwards discusses the road to the title, how he turned his life around, the fact that many people consider Johnny Eblen to be the greatest middleweight on planet earth right now and whether a win on Sa...

U.K. MMA legend and former UFC welterweight title challenger joins Petesy to talk about PFL Europe 3 in Paris on September 30 and gives insights on the success of the Newcastle and Berlin events earlier this year.  Hardy discusses his excitement ahead of the debuts of kickboxing royalty Cédric Doumbé, one of the best fighters outside of the UFC, “The Lazy King”, Abdoul Abdouraguimov, as well as lo...

Petesy speaks to the main man on the scene for Irish MMA, Severe MMA and The Auld Triangle’s Andy Stevenson, about his lofty expectations for UFC Dublin and whether they need to be lowered.  The lads discuss the negativity online with regard to Irish MMA, when they would like to see the UFC come back and whether they believe the new Irish charges can bounce back from their debut losses.  They also...

On this week’s show, UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley joins The Craic to talk his super star making moment in Boston at UFC 292, how he’s gifting Marlon Vera a title shot and his wish to fight in Ireland.  O’Malley also gives his take on Ian Garry’s comments about putting the UFC 292 card on his back and wether he believes the Irishman has the ability to become a superstar. O’Malley also un...

The king of the U.K. main event, Tom Aspinall, returns to The Craic to give his take on Ciryl Gane no selling a fight with him following the UFC Paris main event.  The Wigan man reveals how he ended up on the beer with the French heavyweight following the event and gives his take on Jon Jones’ recent comments reflecting on the two facing off for the title one day.

The man leading the line for Scottish MMA, Paul Craig, returns to The Craic to discuss his upcoming bout with Brendan Allen.  Craig discusses how he has changed his mindset having previously suffered with imposter syndrome and sheds light on the camp he is about to embark on with Chris Bungard and - pending approval - Ross Cooper in Las Vegas.  The Scottish middleweight gives his take on life in a...

When Caolan Loughran joined The Craic earlier this week, he had no idea his original opponent Yanis Ghemmouri would withdraw from their bantamweight clash only to replaced by one of the most experienced fighters in France, Taylor Lapilus.  That said, the former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion is brimming with confidence as he took aim at all things French MMA, Sean O’Malley and Chito Vera. Cou...

Rhys McKee returns to The Craic on the week of his return to the Octagon, which takes place this weekend at UFC Paris.  McKee talked about staying relaxed ahead of the pivotal fight, how different it feels now as opposed to his last stint with the UFC when he was given two horrific back to back match-ups with Khamzat Chimaev and Alex Morono and how he feels about being the underdog for his clash w...

Fresh off his scintillating performance in Boston, Ian Machado Garry rejoins The Craic to discuss seeing UFC Dublin into existence.  The Malahide man discusses his epic beating of Neil Magny and acknowledged that he wanted to humiliate the veteran during their fight following his pre-fight amble.  Garry also gave his take on potential matchups with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Colby Convington an...

After reporting from Boston for UFC 292, Donagh Corby joins the show to give his take on all the thrills and spills at the TD Garden.  Is Sean O’Malley the biggest star on the UFC’s books? Did Ian Garry win more fans or haters through his virtuoso performance against Neil Magny and is Dillon Danis suddenly liked in the world of combat sports?

Ahead of his massive clash with Neil Magny at UFC 292, Ian Machado Garry returns to The Craic to chat what’s at stake at Boston’s TD Garden. Garry recalls his recent trip to Brazil and travelling with his young son Leo across the globe. He gives his take on the social media clip that he posted of a sparring injury Chris Curtis sustained that ultimately forced him to withdraw from his upcoming figh...

Ahead of his fight at MSG this weekend, surging PFL featherweight Nate Kelly joins The Craic. Kelly discusses how early setbacks didn’t define his career, sparring with Conor McGregor and his plans with the PFL beyond his clash with Damion Nelson

One of the the greatest featherweights in the world, Arnold Allen, joins The Craic for a signature conversation that hits on a multitude of topics including cats, Canadian sandwiches and Terrence Crawford.  “Almighty” also revealed that his continued battles with injuries has begun to take its mental toll as he looks to get into the condition to return following his last outing with Max Holloway.

“The Don” Caolan Loughran joins the show ahead of his debut at UFC Paris.  The UFC bantamweight discuss his signing, how he felt guilty initially due to Paul Hughes remaining unsigned by the UFC, his aspirations to fight on a December PPV alongside Conor McGregor and what he expects from his UFC debut.  Loughran gave insights on his entering the USADA testing pool, his gratitude to legendary U.K....

With much speculation surrounding the UFC’s return to Dublin, Irish MMA legend Chris Fields, former Cage Warriors champion and head coach of Team KF, joins the show to discuss his hopes for his fighters to earn spots on the prospective card.  Fields discusses the glory days of 2014 and beyond, gives an idea of how many of his fighters could be in he mix for UFC contracts, his split with Ian Garry...

Jake Paul’s adventure into the world of boxing has largely become an MMA story due to the opponents he is facing. He takes on his most iconic foe to date this Saturday in Texas when he clashes with the legendary Stockton native, Nate Diaz, but does the world of boxing care about this fight?  Ireland’s best boxing journalist, Gavan Casey of the The42.ie, joins Petesy to discuss how the fight is bei...

On the latest episode of The Craic, Petesy is joined by Rhys McKee who recently became the first Irishman to ever be re-signed by the UFC.  McKee shares his feelings on the doubt that surrounded him getting a second stint with the promotion and looks forward to his return bout against Ange Loosa at UFC Paris.  The former Cage Warriors and BAMMA champion discusses representing Irish MMA alongside C...

On the back of a massive weekend of MMA in the English capital, Petesy speaks to U.K. media OG Chisanga Malata of SunSport to get his take after attending Aspinall vs. Tybura at the historic O2 Arena.  The lads discuss Tom Aspinall’s amazing main event, Paul Craig's debut at middleweight, the possibility of Nathaniel Wood vs. Lerone Murphy, the negativity towards Molly McCann after her loss, the d...

On the week of her UFC debut, Shauna Bannon shares her excitement about her first trip to the Octagon. The Holohan Martial Arts product gives insight into how motherhood has proved to be one of the great motivations for her fighting career and details how much planning goes into her day-to-day schedule because of her responsibilities to her son, Jayce.  Bannon discusses training alongside U.K. MMA...

The first Irish person to both fight and coach at a UFC level, Irish MMA legend Paddy Holohan joins The Craic to give insights on Shauna Bannon, who makes her debut at UFC Dublin.  “The Hooligan” recalls how he became Bannon’s coach on the back of her decorated career as a kickboxer. He also explains what makes “Mama B” special and forecasts how far she can go in the UFC’s straw weight division. ...

The most dominant champion in the history of KSW, Phil De Fries, will attempt to make his ninth heavyweight title defence this weekend at KSW 84 when he faces Szymon Bajor.  The champ discusses training alongside Tom Aspinall and Mick Parkin ahead of UFC London, gives his take on Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury and underlines why he thinks his eleven fight win streak - an undefeated run that dates...

Ahead of his debut at UFC London, Mick Parkin joins The Craic to discuss the difficulties of getting fights as a heavyweight and training alongside the likes of Phil De Fries and Tom Aspinall ahead of his UFC bow. Parkin reveals how he attended recent UFC London events as a fan and gives his take on what he can expect from Jamal Pogues when they clash at the O2.  Also on the show, Petesy gives his...

U.K. MMA media O.G. Chisanga Malata of Sun Sport joins The Craic to discuss the disdain among U.K. MMA fans over the pricing of UFC London. Chisanga and Petesy compare the live gate revenue UFC have taken from London events before and after the pandemic and Chisanga gives his two cents on the potential of headliner Tom Aspinall.  Also on the show, Petesy looks back at Lee Hammond’s TUF loss and fo...

Undefeated Manchester knockout artist Lewis McGrillen is one of the most electrifying prospects in the sport and makes his second walk for PFL this Saturday in Berlin.  McGrillen joins The Craic to discuss winning over the elder statesmen in Manchester’s MMA scene (04:20), his links to Ireland and his life-changing PFL debut. The 22-year-old underlines his mission to become the poster boy of PFL E...