Bellator MMA star Peter Queally acknowledges Conor McGregor’s impact on the sport, but insists it was ‘lucky’ that he had a string of Irish stars that could row in behind him.
McGregor burst onto the scene when he joined the UFC in 2013. Within three years, he was a two-weight World Champion and the biggest star the sport had ever seen.
On the back of McGregor’s success, the sport’s popularity in Ireland exploded. A decade on, the sport is still thriving in this country, and when Bellator returns to the 3 Arena at the end of this month, it will be the third sell-out event to take place in less than a year.
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It wasn’t always that way though, particularly in the days before McGregor’s ascension to superstardom. But while McGregor was the leading light, a string of hungry up-and-coming Irish fighters filled out his cards and helped the Dubliner become the global star that he is today.
“He’s a huge part of the growth and it came at a critical time,” said Queally, who fights Bryce Logan at Bellator 291 on February 25th.
“It was lucky when he came in a sense that there was me, Cathal Pendred, Aisling Daly, Paddy Holohan, Artem Lobov.
“There was a tonne of guys that were right behind that could take advantage of it.
“So we played a part in it too, but of course without Conor - he got everyone excited about it and kind of made MMA cool.
“And then they were interested in seeing all of us and we were lucky that we were able to provide the extra content or whatever that people craved.”
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Tickets to BELLATOR 291: Amosov vs. Storley 2, taking place at Dublin’s 3Arena on Saturday, February 25, are available from Ticketmaster.ie and Bellator.com
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