As the fans poured into the Tele2 arena last night, there were not many more promising young fighters on the UFC roster than Chris Beal. But then came Neil Seery.
Neil Seery is a 35-year-old true flyweight who was welcoming the larger, more powerful Beal down to 125lbs and was largely unfavoured with most bookmakers considering him a 13/8 underdog.
But the fight hardly ever got out of the Irishman’s control. He dominated the boxing in the opening round before putting on an offensive Jiu Jitsu display in the second round, threatening with a very tight guillotine and using both kimuras and arm-triangles from the bottom to keep active.
When the final bell rang and Bruce Buffer took to the octagon, there was little doubt who had earned the decision and Seery was given the nod on all scorecards by 30-27, 30-27, 29-28.
But what comes next for “2-tap”?
The Dubliner was quite insistent on taking one fight at a time when we spoke to him on the day of his weigh-in, considering his veteran status in the sport of mixed martial arts.
But he did add that he had plans to steal the momentum of the then-undefeated Beal, saying: “I’m just going to stop him right in his tracks. I’m going to stall his rise.”
And Seery did essentially take all the promise that Beal held and transfer it into his own speedy hands.
While we’re not going to jump the gun and say that the Irishman is a certainty for the top 15 this year, he’s not far off it in a division that UFC.com claims has just 41 fighters.
And after getting past both Phil Harris and Chris Beal in his last two outings, as well as giving perpetual gatekeeper Brad Pickett a run for his money in his UFC debut, Seery will be looking for a big-name candidate.
For a true test of his ability, it wouldn’t be a bad match-up to see “2-tap” paired with the loser of Zach Makovsky v Tim Elliot. The Americans are currently ranked at #10 and #11 respectively at 125lbs.
Makovsky is coming off of a loss to Jussier Formiga but with his striking skills coming on leaps and bounds, a bout against “2-tap” would be an intriguing fight for the fans.
Meanwhile Elliot is coming off a pair of losses to Joseph Benavidez and Ali Bagautinov so his bout with Makovsky is paramount to his future with the UFC.
Whoever wins this intriguing scrap will likely break into the top 10 at 125lbs while Seery would be chomping at the bit for a chance at the loser of the bout with both fighters having respectable names in that division.
A victory over either fighter in the early summer would catapult Seery into top-level fighter status, which is where we think he belongs.
