Louis Smolka’s submission victory against Patrick Holohan in the UFC Fight Night 76 main event on Saturday at the 3Arena in Dublin was quite an achievement for the young Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweight.
Beating Holohan in the Irishman’s home country was a coup for the fast-rising Smolka, as he improved to 10-1 and continued to improve his position in the flyweight pecking order.
Meanwhile, English welterweight Darren Till looked radioactive over the first two rounds of his bout with former Cage Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder Nicolas Dalby, following the lead of his entrance song: “Radioactive,” by Imagine Dragons. Till nearly finished the Dane with a left hand near the end round one. After a close second round, Dalby came back with a vengeance in the third, where he set an unbelievable pace and came close to finishing Till with just 75 seconds remaining in the bout. Judges Andy Roberts and Dean Weir awarded Dalby 10-8 scores in the third round, leading to a majority draw.
Finally, welterweight Cathal Pendred suffered a fate similar to that of the Republic of Ireland national soccer team, as he fell by way of first round knockout at the hands of Tom Breese. Pendred made his walkout to the tune of the national team’s theme song -- a team that has made just three FIFA World Cup appearances in its history. The SBG Ireland rep was outclassed by the undefeated Breese from the starting bell and failed to survive the first round.
Other notable song choices included “Jesus Piece,” by The Game, Common and Kanye West, which trumpeted Norman Parke’s arrival before his unanimous decision over Reza Madadi in the co-main event; Drake’s “Back to Back,” which played ahead of Jon delos Reyes’ guillotine choke submission loss to Neil Seery; and Tupac’s “Until the End of Time,” which preceded Breese’s blowout of Pendred.
A full rundown follows:
UFC Fight Night ‘Holohan vs. Smolka’ Walkout Songs
Louis Smolka: “Achievement” | G-EazyPatrick Holohan: “Paint the town Green” | The Script
Norman Parke: “Jesus Piece” | The Game feat. Common and Kanye West
Reza Madadi: “Leila Leila Leila” | Sorush
Nicolas Dalby: “Black Betty” | Spiderbait
Darren Till: “Radioactive” | Imagine Dragons
Neil Seery: “Charlie Brown” | Coldplay
Jon delos Reyes: “Back to Back” | Drake
Stevie Ray: “Braveheart (Remix)” | Tiesto
Mickael Lebout: “If I had a Heart” | Fever Ray
Aisling Daly: “Zombie” | The Cranberries
Ericka Almeida: “Just a Girl” | No Doubt
Krzysztof Jotko: “Slums Attack” | Randori
Scott Askham: “I Wanna Be Your Dog” | The Stooges
Tom Breese: “Until the End of Time” | Tupac
Cathal Pendred: “Put ’em Under Pressure” | Ireland World Cup Theme Song
Darren Elkins: “Get Ready” | E13
Robert Whiteford: “Flowers of Scotland” | The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Garreth McLellan: “Thunderstruck” | AC/DC
Bubba Bush: “Amazing Grace” | Dropkick Murphy’s