DUBLIN, Ireland — The UFC made its long-awaited return to Dublin with a card heavily loaded with hometown heroes. One such hero was Neil Seery.
The 34-year-old full-time warehouse worker made a name for himself at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs Brandao Saturday at the O2 Arena by proving the critics wrong and avenging a loss to Phil Harris four years in the making.
Seery entered the Octagon to an ovation of epic proportions. The Irish crowd embraced the long suffering flyweight as he began a pursuit for fistic redemption against Harris, who beat him by unanimous decision at BAMMA 3 in Birmingham, England.
Fight week for Seery was far from ideal. On Monday morning, he buried his nephew. Most people would have pulled out of the event to deal with the family tragedy, but Seery isn’t most people. He did what he always does and gave his all from the opening bell. He swung with gusto looking for the finish and on a number of occasions he came close to scoring a knockout. Instead, the Irishman settled for a dominant decision victory.
Seery’s career has been up and down since day one, even briefly retiring after a loss in Cage Warriors several years ago. His retirement wasn’t permanent and that proved to be the correct choice, as he rebounded to become a Cage Warriors champion and is now in the UFC’s 125-pound division with some potential marquee matchups in his future.
A fight against Brazilian knockout artist John Lineker could fit well for Seery. With the division’s title picture at a standstill — Demetrious Johnson defends his belt against Chris Cariaso at UFC 177 — Lineker needs to stay busy and with Seery being a former Cage Warriors champ that fight could potentially insert a level of excitement to an international event. Stylistically, Seery could cause Lineker trouble. Seery, an assured boxer with cardio for days and a solid ground game, would test Linker’s gas tank and that fight could possibly generate a new No. 1 contender.
If the UFC deems Lineker too much of a challenge for Seery then a bout with Dustin Ortiz could also be interesting. Both are skilled, explosive and always in pursuit of a finish.
Seery’s development should continue with more fights in Europe before he competes across the Atlantic, but his coach said with the flyweight division so thin a guy with a following as large as Seery’s might only be one win away from a title shot.
