Unbeaten Irish Prospect Plots Second UFC "Takeover" When Conor McGregor Returns

The UFC's latest signing from Ireland has high hopes for her country's immediate future in the promotion.

Unbeaten Shauna Bannon hopes that her promotional debut and the potential return of Conor McGregor will help to spark a new era of success for Irish fighters in the UFC.

“Mama B” is set to step into the UFC’s Octagon for the first time this weekend in a strawweight bout against Bruna Brasil. That matchup will take place on the prelims of the UFC’s return to London, which is headlined by top heavyweights Tom Aspinall and Marcin Tybura.

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Bannon’s unanimous decision win at Invicta FC 52 last March was impressive enough for the UFC to sign the 5-0 fighter outright, and during the lead up to her first Octagon appearance the 29-year-old was asked by Ariel Helwani how it feels to have the support of the biggest star in UFC history.

(Invicta FC)

“Even before I was in the UFC, [McGregor] used to congratulate me and text me ‘Well done.' It’s just - I really hope he can come back and fight as well and we can have a whole new Irish crowd," Bannon said on The MMA Hour. "Because I really do believe that the takeover part two is gonna happen. There’s four Irish fighters on the roster now, and there’s so many more to come as well. Ireland has unbelievable athletes, and we’ve seen it happen before and I think it’s about to happen again. And I’m so excited to be a part of it.”

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A timetable for McGregor’s potential return to the cage is uncertain at best, but longtime fans of the sport will never forget the Irishman’s meteoric rise to stardom when he first joined the UFC. 

The 35-year-old has been front and center in the UFC’s promotional material as of late thanks to his appearance as a coach on the currently airing season 31 of The Ultimate Fighter, and his opposing coach Michael Chandler still seems confident that the two will meet in the Octagon at some point.

Bannon’s debut this weekend might certainly give Irish MMA fans something to cheer about in McGregor’s absence, and rising welterweight star Ian Machado Garry is also set to put his undefeated record on the line when he meets Geoff Neal at UFC 292 next month. 

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