Paddy Holohan is quietly working his way to the top of the flyweight ladder.
Going 3-1 with the promotion over the past 12 months means he’s one of the more successful 125 lbers on the roster, but his popularity sets him apart from the competition.
There are not many big draws in that weight class but The Hooligan is certainly one of them and he believes he’s just a few fights away from a shot at Demetrious Johnson’s belt.
“A lot of people say that they were surprised that the fight with Vaughan Lee wasn’t closer but I wasn’t,” Holohan says.
“I feel like I’m really coming into my own now as a fighter.
“I’m 27 now and I’m starting to develop that man’s strength. My skill level is higher than it’s ever been before and my mind is starting to secure itself as being completely comfortable now.
“I believe that with maybe two more wins, definitely three, that I’ll be getting the shout for a title shot.”
@PaddyHolohanMMA @seanshelby @ufc I’ll gladly fight you in Ireland
— Louis Smolka (@LASTSAMURAIUFC) July 18, 2015
In uncharacteristic fashion, Holohan threw out a veiled call-out of Louis Smolka, the Hawaiian fighter who beat fellow Dubliner Neil Seery at UFC 189 two weeks ago but he still refuses to call Smolka out by name.
“I’m not for mentioning names,” Holohan said. “I’m not going to give anyone some free PR. Louis knew I was talking about him.
“There’s no bad blood or malice between us at all. I’d just like to get a little bit of revenge back for Neil because us Irish have to stick together. I’d love for Louis to have to travel to our backyard rather than have Neil fly over to the States to take on Louis.”
There was some concern among Holohan fans when the Irishman showed up to the scales at the UFC Glasgow weigh-ins, still in his sweat suit, but the flyweight revealed that the weight cut wasn’t the problem but, rather, faulty scales in his hotel room.
“What happened was this. I checked my weight two hours ahead of the weigh-ins and was bang on so I just chilled out in my hotel room for awhile and, out of curiosity, I checked again just before we left the hotel and found that I was a pound heavier even though I hadn’t taken any water or eaten anything.
“I didn’t have any time to run it off or get back in the bath so I just put the suit back on, got on the bus and tried to sweat the pound off on the way to the venue which I did. It wasn’t much of a problem to be honest.”
In the run-up to UFC Glasgow, Holohan would have found himself in unfamiliar territory as SBG head coach John Kavanagh had been in Vegas preparing Conor McGregor for his interim title fight with Chad Mendes, but The Hooligan maintains that it didn’t scupper his plans too much.
“Technology is amazing nowadays so you’re never really out of contact with anyone with Whats App and Video Messenger. We knew this was going to happen.
“John’s not a really hands-on type of coach. He’s more one to stand back, watch and let you know the intricate little details of what you can improve on.
“And in professional MMA you have to prepare for these things. You can’t be superstitious like some athletes are with a pair of lucky jocks. It just doesn’t work in fighting. You have to be ready for anything.
“Sure, it wasn’t ideal but Chris Fields ran most sessions and he knows what he’s doing. We have more than enough at SBG and we had Aisling as well to help out. It’s like a little village in the gym and we weren’t left wanting.”
When asked whether he felt that he deserves a spot on the main card of UFC Dublin when the octagon returns to the capital in October, Holohan was typically unconcerned, with one caveat of course.
“I’d be lying if I said I knew how the UFC put cards together and I don’t really care where they put me as long as I’m on the card. Unless I get paid more, that changes everything.”
Conor McGregor has paved the path for Irish fighters in the UFC and he’s currently coaching opposite Urijah Faber on season 22 of The Ultimate Fighter. Holohan admits he’d love the chance to get over to Las Vegas to help out as a guest coach on Team Europe.
“I would love it. Coaching is a huge passion for me. It would be an honour to help out young fighters and just tell them what they should do, what they shouldn’t do, etc.
“It’d be a bit surreal going from a contestant on the show to a coach so I’d love to get over but Conor’s already got a pretty solid team of coaches there with Owen Roddy, Sergey Pikulskiy, Tom Egan and I think Gunnar Nelson might be there for a bit too.”
Holohan will remain in Dublin for an almost guaranteed spot on the UFC Dublin card and he was quick to rubbish the online rumours that the Scottish crowd was louder than the Irish.
“You’ll never ever match Dublin again, never. I was there at UFC Glasgow and I was there at UFC Dublin and I can say, hand-on-heart, that Scotland definitely wasn’t louder than the 3Arena.
“That’s no knock to the Glasgow crowd because they were incredible but, honestly, UFC Dublin is never going to be beaten.”
