Dublin Remains "The Best Fight Town on the Planet" According to Dana White

You could have heard a pin drop in the 3 Arena on Saturday night as Louis Smolka raised himself up off the mat after Paddy 'The Hooligan' Holohan succumbed to a rear-naked choke in the second round of their main event meeting.

Moments before that, the stadium was shaking as the crowd chorused together to sing the name of the Irish flyweight who threw caution to the wind with his aggressive grappling style in what made for a memorable face off with the Hawaiian.

The scenes that followed the initial silence that descended on the crowd angered a lot of people in the Irish MMA community. Unhappy with the result of the headline bout, some geniuses decided to throw objects into the Octagon. Plastic pint glasses, plastic bottles and even a tennis ball were torpedoed into the enclosure. The ball hit a photographer who sustained a cut to his face. Like monkeys who show their frustration by throwing shit at people visiting the zoo, the actions of a few fans could have marred what was otherwise another fantastic night of support for Ireland's UFC charges.

Although Dana White was not present at the event's post-fight press conference, the UFC president sent a message to the gathered media through General Manager of UFC EMEA, James Elliott.

"When I was talking to Dana just after the fights," Elliott said. "He said he wanted me to let everyone know he's travelled the world to all these shows and Dublin is without a doubt the best fight town on the planet."

After last year's July show, the passionate Irish MMA fans became world renowned for their vocal support and celebrations. The night itself was magical for the island's MMA proponents, with all six fighters on the card taking wins. The night brought with it some magical debuts too with Paddy Holohan and Cathal Pendred. Pendred pulled off an amazing comeback win against Mike King and Paddy Holohan opened the show with rear naked choke finish over Josh Sampo. To top it all off, Conor McGregor made his first outing under the UFC banner in his hometown and recorded a resounding first round win over Diego Brandao.

Last weekend's card seemed cursed in comparison. First the co-main event, Ben Rothwell versus Stipe Miocic, was cancelled after the Croatian sustained an injury. Just when everyone got over that shock, UFC's discovery of Joseph Duffy's "mild concussion" pulled the event's main bout from the proceedings too. The complaints came in thick and fast, but as soon as the first burst of applause came for Garreth McClellan passing Bubba Bush's guard, you felt that the crowd had a certain appreciation for the technical side of MMA, which is never a bad thing.

The fans had a reputation to preserve given their infamous showing last July. They nearly have become a selling point to any event held in Ireland. People want to feel the atmosphere in the arena from wherever they watch around the world, and the supporters in the Irish capital were certainly responsible for plenty of memorable moments last Saturday.

Despite his first round TKO loss at the hands of England's Tom Breese, the Irish stood and applauded as Cathal Pendred left the Octagon after his undercard slot. 10,000 people singing 'Zombie' by the Cranberries with Aisling Daly as she made her first walk to the Octagon as a UFC fighter in front of her hometown was absolutely spine tingling. You can't get much more Irish than a bunch of lads from the Dublin's north side dancing to 'Zombie Nation.' Neil Seery and his Team Ryano corner men Andy Ryan, Paul Redmond and Keith Duffy's had the whole crowd dancing to the electronic anthem after his second round dispatch of Jon Delos Reyes.

Anyone who had reservations about Paddy Holohan and Louis Smolka as the main event bout were proven wrong by the flyweight clash. An action packed meeting with an absolutely unbelievable atmosphere, I challenge anyone to find a flyweight contest with a more electrifying backdrop. It was almost like the whole crowd had met up before the event to rehearse their various chants. From 'Paddy, Paddy, Paddy', to 'Ole, Ole, Ole' if you had no knowledge of the sport you probably wouldn't believe that it was Holohan's first time headlining a UFC card. From the word go the fans treated him as a national hero and despite his loss, Saturday night probably solidified him as one.

You can't help but fathom what kind of an atmosphere a show in 80,000-seat venue Croke Park would have after witnessing the scenes on Saturday night. With just ten thousand people in the arena on, the venue shook as the Irish charges took to the Octagon. With the historic backdrop of Ireland's national stadium, a UFC event would take on a whole different dimension if they ever managed to make the show a reality. With the amount of tickets that would need to be sold, Conor McGregor would inevitably take center stage if a Croke Parke date was ever secured, and as the most popular sportsman in the country, personally I have no doubt that they could completely sell the venue out.

A Croke Park show seems to be the only way that the heroics of last July would ever be beaten, and even if McGregor didn't have his hand raised in the Irish stadium, chances are the people in the nosebleeds wouldn't be able to reach the Octagon with their missiles of misery, as seen on Saturday night.