Perry helps Ireland to stunning silver

DENIS Perry has recently returned from Bahrain where he helped the Irish Mixed Martial Arts Association team to a stunning silver medal success at the MMA Super Cup.

The Strabane man who won a World Championship bronze medal back in 2015 has been catching the eye since returning to the octagon just over a year ago following an extended break from the sport.

However, now he’s back in fighting shape and with a big international event on the horizon, the Irish team selectors weren’t likely to look past Perry as their light heavweight pick.

And he’s delighted they chose him for the all-expenses paid trip to what was essentially the Olympics of the MMA world with teams from all around the world flown to the Kingdom of Bahrain where they were treated, not only like elite sportspeople, but like celebrities, with local people eagerly requesting selifes and autographs at every opportunity.

While Perry thoroughly enjoyed that side of the experience, he was there to do a job and do it he certainly did.

Having to weigh-in on a daily basis before each fight – a new stipulation to avoid the risks associated with weight cutting – proved not to be a distraction for the Irish team, who were initially to fight Russia in their opening round match-up. However, due to the conflict in Ukraine, the Russians were expelled from the competition and Ireland came up against the Oceanic squad comprised of fighters from Australia and New Zealand.

Perry fell to a narrow defeat in his opening bout, suffering an injury to his shoulder and cuts to his face, but with Ireland progressing he was raring to go against Mexico.

The Mexicans cruised through their opening round and were able to rest four of their fighters, including Perry’s opponent, who was much fresher than the Tyrone man.

However, with the tie being decided on the outcome of the bout and with Perry sharp following a bruising first round encounter, the Strabane man put his opponent, a national kickboxing champion, to bed inside the first round thanks to his trademark Americana arm lock move.

That propelled Ireland into the final against hosts, Bahrain, who are one of the top teams in the world and in the end that proved a correct assessment as they claimed victory on home soil while Ireland were delighted to settle with silver medals.

“No-one expected us to get that far, so to finish second was brilliant,” beamed Perry.

“The whole experience was amazing, the way we were treated and looked after was incredible, even coach John Kavanagh said it was better than the UFC!

“I’d like to thank my coach, Gareth Vaughan at SBG Strabane for helping me prepare for the tournament and my fiancee, Susan Kearney for her support before, during and after the event.”

Denis is now looking forward to representing Ireland again in the summer when he will be part of the squad travelling to Liverpool to take on England, Scotland and Wales in the Four Nations.