Irish fans were shocked Monday when it was revealed that national cult hero Neil Seery was not given a main card slot for his final MMA bout against former title contender and fan favorite Ian McCall.

The November 19 card for UFC Fight Night 99 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has already been under scrutiny due to the lack of hometown draws that appear on the lineup. As things stand, Seery and Artem Lobov, another Dublin-based fighter, are the Irish interests on the card. When Gunnar Nelson, another Irish fan favorite, was pulled from the main event over the weekend, a lot of Irish fans believed that Seery would be a shoe-in for the main event as he is set to make his final walk to the Octagon.

It was revealed Monday that Seery versus McCall would instead headline the preliminary portion of the card, and veteran Irish coach Andy Ryan isn't too happy with his star man's billing.

No Other Irish

"There are no other Irish fighters on the card. We thought he would be getting the co-main event or maybe the third slot on the main card," Ryan said. "With his retirement and what he means to the Irish fans, we thought he would be one of the main fights.

"The fact that he is on the undercard is crazy. I know UFC are trying to push Fight Pass, but the fans wanted to see him as one of the main fights for his last time in the Octagon.

"The feeling in Ireland was that he would have the co-main slot behind 'Gunni.' In the lead up to the fight, 'Gunni' was giving great respect to Seery and talking about how proud he was of his career. I'm a little bit hurt by him not getting the main card. I'm annoyed for him, because he has worked his whole life to reach this level."

Deserved

Ryan highlighted that Seery has always done what the promotion have asked of him. Having proved that he is worthy of the biggest stages, the judo and jiu-jitsu black belt claimed that the 37-year-old deserved to go out during the main broadcast of the Belfast event on November 19.

"This guy has never refused a fight. He fought anybody they came to him with. Sometimes I hear Seery saying that he felt the difference in level when he fought Horiguchi and Smolka, but he still hurt both of them guys in those fights.

"He has never shied away from anything when UFC brought fights to him. Every time he went out there, gave it his all and put on a show for the fans. He has proven that he is worthy of the big stage, and that's what he deserved for his fight.

"He got to the UFC the hard way. He was going to retire years ago. He won the Cage Warriors title, then his first title defense fell apart. He got a late notice call up to fight Brad Pickett, and he went in there and stood toe-to-toe with him like he always does. He's had a great run in the UFC, and he's won the respect of everyone. Even when he lost against Horiguchi he won the crowd over."

Ireland's First Main-Card Fighter

As Ryan highlighted, Seery is the first Irish fighter to ever grace the main card of UFC event, a feat that achieved in his short notice debut against Brad Pickett in London back in March 2014.

His only other previous appearance on main card came at UFC Dublin last October, where he received a standing ovation for his stoppage victory over Jon Delos Reyes. The performance also won the Dubliner a "Performance of the Night" bonus.

"People forget that he was the first guy to fight on a UFC card," Ryan said. "He went in on short notice, and he didn't let anyone down. Dana White was saying how he should've signed him for 10 fights.

"In every fight he's had, he's gone out on his shield--win, lose or draw. He deserved to go out on top."

Although it is rumored that Gegard Mousasi and Uriah Hall's rematch will take the place of Nelson and Dong Hyun Kim in the main event, UFC have still to confirm a replacement to top the bill at the SSE Arena.

​​By Petesy Carroll

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