Can Henry Fadipe be the first Irish World Champion of 2014
For those of us who might not be too familiar with the Irish Mixed Martial Arts scene. You could be fooled for thinking that there was only one fighter of significance who has emerged from the Emerald Isle in recent years. Far from it, there are a raft of up and coming fighters who have put in the hard hours, blood sweat and tears to claw them way into the bigger promotions. And we are not just talking about homegrown 100% genuine born and bred Irish talents like the Daly’s, Seery’s, Quinn’s or McGregor’s!
No, we are also referring to those competitors who have come from far and wide to settle or train on our little island. Hoping to capture some of the essence and mystique of the Irish fighting spirit. Which has been passed down from generation to generation, in the clubs and gyms across the country. These fighters have come from as far afield as Iceland, the UK, all across Europe and now, of course, the great continent of Africa.
I am referring to our latest title hopeful Henry Fadipe. Born and raised in Nigeria, then moving to Ireland at the age of 11. Fadipe not only brings excellent speed and explosiveness to his fights but also a high knock out ratio to back it up. That being said, with a record of (7 – 6 -1), at first glance his record doesn’t scream title contender.
Extreme Fighting Championships
But following his 2 fight win, 1 draw streak with Extreme Fighting Championships – Africa. With one of those wins coming against their former welterweight champ Michiel Opperman. Fadipe has muscled his way into the number one contender slot and now faces off against the reigning champ Dino Bagattin.
As he plans to bring the Championship belt back to his adopted homeland. And what a great achievement it would be for the self-proclaimed Nigerish man. Being Ireland’s first athlete of 2014 to bring home a World Championship.
He may not be too well known in Ireland outside the tight-knit Irish MMA scene. But for those who don’t know his name, maybe they should sit up, take notice and try to find out more about the Dubliner. He’s proudly flying the Irish tricolour for the whole nation and if that’s not something the whole country can all get behind, then what is?
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