Irish MMA fighters sound off on Joe Brolly for ‘bloody freakshow’ criticism

A host of Irish MMA fighters have fired back at Sunday Independent columnist Joe Brolly for his criticism of mixed martial arts following UFC 229 earlier this month.

The popular GAA pundit claimed in a piece titled 'Joe Brolly: The time has come to call a halt to the UFC's bloody freak show' that the UFC has 'placed a respectable veil over savagery' and asked why not 'legitimise dog fighting' if the UFC are trying to normalise MMA through punditry and promotion. https://twitter.com/IndoSport/status/1051541577624096768 A number of Irish MMA fighters responded to Brolly with former UFC Featherweight Paul Redmond branding Brolly as an 'uneducated emptyhead'. https://twitter.com/RedserMma/status/1051437150275809281 https://twitter.com/RedserMma/status/1051502857378295810 https://twitter.com/PaddyTheBaddy/status/1051822493919526912 https://twitter.com/WillFckinFleury/status/1051942716362412032 https://twitter.com/PeterJLavery/status/1052127640029749254 https://twitter.com/barryoglesby/status/1052099655012638720 MMA referees Marc Goddard and John McCarthy also responded to the article with Goddard claiming that his piece was 'utterly negative' while McCarthy labeled the 'veteran' barrister as 'close minded'. https://twitter.com/marcgoddard_uk/status/1051544622009323521 https://twitter.com/JohnMcCarthyMMA/status/1051932602280669185 https://twitter.com/JohnMcCarthyMMA/status/1051933471269109762 https://twitter.com/John_Kavanagh/status/1051532563146334208 https://twitter.com/John_Kavanagh/status/1051541392403652610 Brolly also fired a jab at Conor McGregor's coach John Kavanagh for what he perceived as a lecture on the culture of respect. https://twitter.com/JoeBrolly1993/status/1052114421382860800

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