Waianae’s Smolka beats hometown fighter Holohan at UFC Dublin
DUBLIN, Ireland » Waianae’s Louis Smolka defeated hometown fighter Paddy Holohan via tap-out Saturday at UFC Dublin, while Northern Ireland’s Norman Parke earned a unanimous decision over Reza Madadi.
Holohan started strongly in the main event of the evening but found himself overmatched as the bout wore on. He was caught by a right high kick and looping punches toward the end of the first round and was on the back foot for much of the second before having to tap out to a rear naked choke.
"It was surreal," Smolka said about the atmosphere in Dublin’s 3Arena. "The energy (here) is incredible."
The event was ravaged by injuries in recent weeks, with the original main card of Ben Rothwell against Stipe Miocic and Joe Duffy versus Dustin Poirier canceled.
In the co-main event, Parke was the more skilled fighter against Madadi in a bout low on high-impact moments.
"He was very tough, durable," Parke said. "Sometimes you go looking for (a decisive win), but it never comes."
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Also, England’s Darren Till had to settle for a majority draw against Nicolas Dalby of Denmark after injuring his shoulder in the final stanza in the opening two rounds of their contest, but claimed an injured shoulder in the final stanza.
In the opening fight on the main card, 36-year-old Neil Seery of Ireland stopped Jon Dos Reyes with a guillotine choke for the tap-out.
On the preliminary card, straw-weight Aisling Daly earned another Irish victory by defeating Ericka Almeida via unanimous decision.
"That was one of the best moments of my life," Daly said. "These are the best fans in the world."