Plenty of MMA talent in Tullamore says coach

It might not be long until Tullamore has its own Conor McGregor to cheer on, according to a local mixed martial arts (MMA) coach.

Thanks in no small part to the exploits of newly crowned UFC world champion McGregor, the number of Offaly people looking to get involved in the sport has increased significantly in recent years.

The proprietor of SBG Evolution - Tullamore’s first MMA gym - Kieran Davern has been involved with the sport for over a decade both as a fighter and in later years as a coach. He says that the interest among the general public has never been as high.

“At the start I was the only one around doing it. No one knew what it was but now it’s going completely mainstream. I was in a barber shop recently and there was a documentary on about Conor McGregor and there wasn’t a peep out of anyone there. They were all staring at the television. That’s the effect he has on people, that X-factor.”

Currently returning from injury, Brazilian jiu jitsu specialist Kieran is trained by McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh. The Kilcormac native has trained with McGregor on numerous occasions and says that there is no secret to the Dubliner’s success.

“He’s a good lad, very disciplined and very focused. Anyone who reaches his level has to be seriously disciplined.”

The number of local people taking up MMA has mushroomed in the past two years. Kieran says that while the vast majority have no interest in getting into competition, there is a cohort of up and coming fighters that could put the town on the UFC map in the not so distant future.

“Ninety percent of people do it for self defence and to keep fit but there are seven or eight your lads coming up, who could be future stars. Some of them are training five nights a week. That’s the influence that McGregor is having on people. He’s showed that if you dedicate yourself and believe in yourself that nothing is impossible.

'One young lad I train is reading positive thinking books like 'The Secret’ and 'The Law of Attraction’. He’s not saying 'if I get into the UFC, he’s saying when I get into the UFC’ ”.