Straight Blast Gym Ireland (also known as SBG Ireland) is a mixed martial arts academy and professional team based in Dublin, Ireland. It is run by John Kavanagh, and is part of Straight Blast Gym International. The team has produced several Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters, the most notable being Conor McGregor.
History The gym was founded in 2001 by John Kavanagh, who was a black belt in karate. Later that year it became part of Matt Thornton's Straight Blast Gym International (SBGi), a worldwide association of over 35 gyms, after Kavanagh met Thornton at a tournament in Africa. After partnering with SBGi, Thornton awarded Kavanagh his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) purple belt in 2002. Three years later, Kavanagh won gold at the 2005 European BJJ Championship. In 2007, he was awarded his BJJ black belt, making Kavanagh Ireland's first ever BJJ black belt in the process.
After 15 years at SBG Ireland, main striking coach Owen Roddy announced his departure in the end of November 2018.
Ultimate Fighting Championship In 2009, Tom Egan became SBG's first ever fighter to compete in the UFC. Egan lost to John Hathaway at UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson in Dublin. It wasn't until 2012 that SBG returned to the UFC, when Gunnar Nelson made his debut against DaMarques Johnson at UFC on Fuel TV: Struve vs. Miocic, winning via first-round rear-naked choke. The following year, Conor McGregor made his debut in Sweden. He defeated Marcus Brimage with a first-round knockout, and marked the beginning of a new era of success for the team.
At UFC 189 on 11 July 2015, SBG won their first UFC belt. In the main event of the evening, Conor McGregor had been booked to face José Aldo for the UFC Featherweight title. Aldo pulled out of the fight due to a rib injury however, meaning McGregor instead faced Chad Mendes for the interim title. McGregor won the fight via second-round TKO, on a card that also featured a loss and a victory for SBG fighters Cathal Pendred and Gunnar Nelson respectively.
At UFC 194, an event which set numerous records, Conor McGregor finally got the chance to become the undisputed UFC Featherweight champion, and unify his belt against José Aldo who had been undefeated for over ten years. It took McGregor only 13 seconds to KO the Brazilian, making it the fastest ever finish in a UFC championship match.
The Ultimate Fighter Following McGregor's interim title win at UFC 189, the UFC announced that he would be coaching against Urijah Faber in Season 22 of The Ultimate Fighter. In a "Europe vs USA" themed installment, McGregor was aided by his SBG coaches, Sergey Pikulskiy, Owen Roddy, Arkadiusz Sternalski and former SBG fighter Tom Egan who now coaches out of Peter Welch's Gym in Boston. Despite a slow start, Team Europe took six fighters into the quarter-finals, and then had three of the remaining four in the semi-finals. SBG's Artem Lobov was due to face England's Saul Rogers in an all-European Final, but visa issues saw Team USA's Ryan Hall replace Rogers in the season finale, where he utilized his superior grappling to great effect, and earned a unanimous decision victory over Lobov.
StatusNameWeight ClassInformationMost RecentPromotion 145 lbFour-time Finnish medalist in Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling.Ultimate Fighting Championship Francisco Barrio145 lbFive-time international medalist in Greco-Roman Wrestling.Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki Ilias Bulaid145 lbWorld Champion in Kickboxing.Bellator Mick Daly145 lbFormer Bellator Featherweight title challenger.Bellator Kiefer Crosbie170 lbCenturion Fight Championship Aisling Daly115 lbBlack Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Ultimate Fighting Championship Dillon Danis170 lbSeven-time international medalist and Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Bellator James Gallagher145 lbThree-time European medalist and Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Bellator Hesdy Gerges245 lbFormer World Champion in Kickboxing.HIT Patrick Holohan125 lbBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Ultimate Fighting Championship Luka Jelčić155 lbFormer FFC Lightweight Champion.Retired Brad Katona145 lbTUF: Undefeated Featherweight Champion and current Brave CF Bantamweight ChampionBrave Combat Federation Sinead Kavanagh155 lbIMMAF: World Championships silver medalist. / Former Bellator Women's Featherweight title challenger.Bellator Denise Kielholtz125 lbCurrent Bellator: Kickboxing Flyweight Champion.Bellator Taylor Lapilus135-145 lbUltimate Fighting Championship Artem Lobov145 lbTUF: Season 22 runner-up.Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Conor McGregor145-170 lbFormer UFC Lightweight and Featherweight Champion / Former CWFC Lightweight and Featherweight Champion / Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Ultimate Fighting Championship Frans Mlambo135 lbsCopa Combate 2021 WinnerCombate Global Brian Moore145 lbBellator Gunnar Nelson170 lbFour-time international medalist and Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu / Black belt in Gōjū-ryū Karate.Ultimate Fighting Championship Cathal PendredFormer CWFC Welterweight Champion / Blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Ultimate Fighting Championship Cédric Doumbé170 lbWorld Champion in Kickboxing.Professional Fighters League Paweł Polityło135 lbKonfrontacja Sztuk Walki Peter Queally155 lbBellator Owen Roddy135-145 lbBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-JitsuCage Warriors Daniele Scatizzi145-170 lbBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Bellator Richie Smullen155 lbTUF: Undefeated contestant.Bellator Charlie Ward185 lbBellator Johnny Walker185-265 lbBrown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.Ultimate Fighting Championship
World MMA Awards SBG and its team members have received various recognitions from The World MMA Awards:
Gym / Personnel 2014 Gym of the Year (nominated) 2015 Coach of the Year (nominated) 2015 Trainer of the Year (nominated) 2015 Gym of the Year (nominated) 2016 Gym of the Year (nominated) 2016 Coach of the Year (winner)
Fighters 2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year (nominated) 2013 International Fighter of the Year (nominated) 2014 Comeback of the Year (nominated) 2014 International Fighter of the Year (winner) 2015 Knockout of the Year (nominated) 2015 International Fighter of the Year (winner) 2015 Fighter of the Year (winner) 2016 Fighter of the Year (winner)
Gyms While John Kavanagh's gym remains SBG Ireland's official headquarters, the association has added new branches with gyms across the country. The current gyms are as follows (see https://www.sbgireland.com/affiliate-sbg-gyms/):
SBG Belfast Joys Entry, Belfast, Antrim. SBG Cork City North Point Business Park, Blackpool, Cork.
SBG Ireland (HQ) SBG Ireland HQ Unit 13, Goldenbridge Industrial Estate Inchicore Dublin 8 D08 WK22 SBG Clonmel Cashel Road Industrial Estate, Clonmel, Tipperary SBG Killarney Mangerton View, Killarney, Kerry
SBG Ballina Bunree Road, Bunree, Ballina, Mayo SBG Evolution Kilcruttin Business Park, Tullamore, Offaly SBG Strabane Riverside Leisure Centre, Strabane, Tyrone
See also List of professional MMA training camps
References
External links