PFL Belfast Preview: The Future of Irish MMA
In their second European appearance in 2026 the PFL come to Northern Ireland for PFL Belfast this Thursday.
Original headliner and Irish MMA superstar Paul Hughes unfortunately had to withdraw due to injury but undefeated countryman Darragh Kelly has stepped in to headline against “The Maori Kid” Jay Jay Wilson. Featured on the card are a variety of well known veterans and potential future Irish stars aiming to make a statement in front of a home crowd.
Irish Prospects at PFL Belfast
In the main event lightweight Darragh Kelly aims to maintain his unbeaten record and extend his record to 10-0 against Jay Jay Wilson. The New Zealander is 11-2 and will hope to return to the win column in Ireland and upset the home crowd. Eight of Kelly’s professional bouts have come under Bellator or PFL and he holds a 78% finish rate. Last year he made two appearances in the PFL both resulting in submission finishes. The Irishman will be hoping for a similar result as he kicks off his 2026 campaign hopefully climbing the new PFL rankings.
At 170lbs the towering figure of Eoin Sheridan strides into the cage out of infamous MMA gym SBG Ireland. Sheridan has shared sparring rounds with the notorious Conor McGregor and the gym is well represented at the PFL Belfast event. At 4-0 the 6ft 5″ welterweight headlines the prelims against 7-1 Chris Mixan who celebrated a first round TKO win in his PFL return last August.
Another prospect out of SBG Ireland is bantamweight Ciaran Clarke. Fighting out of Drogheda, Ireland for a long time Irish fans have mentioned the his name as a future star of the sport and at PFL Belfast he can showcase his ability to the world on his PFL debut. Clarke has been out of the cage since September 2024 and this is his longest spell of inactivity since turning pro in 2019.
After spending his whole professional career in Bellator now at 10-0 he faces a step up in competition against well known Englishman Dean Garnett. Last time out Garnett suffered a controversial stoppage defeat at PFL Lyon ending 2025 on an unfortunate note after 2 victories earlier in the year. In his PFL debut he faced Lewis McGrillen in one of the best ever MMA fights back in 2024 and since then has been great addition to the PFL 135lbs roster.
The second fight of the night is an all Irish affair between two hot prospects each making just their second walk to the cage as professionals. Fighting out of another of Ireland’s best gyms, Fight Academy Ireland, Eoghan Masoliver is a much talked about bantamweight whom only made his professional debut one month ago at Cage Conflict. Masolivier boasts an impressive amateur record picking up multiple titles across multiple organisations. Across the cage will be Shane Mullen, another 1-0 Irishman making his PFL debut. His sole victory came in June 2025 with a 28 second D’Arce Choke in Pisa on Tower Cage Fighting.
Who will make the biggest statement at PFL Belfast?
