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.[1] The team has produced several Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters, the most notable being Conor McGregor.
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.[2]
After 15 years at SBG Ireland, main striking coach Owen Roddy announced his departure in the end of November 2018.[3]
In 2009, Tom Egan became SBG's first ever fighter to compete in the UFC. Egan lost to John Hathaway at in Dublin. It wasn't until 2012 that SBG returned to the UFC, when Gunnar Nelson made his debut against DaMarques Johnson at, 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.[4]
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.[5]
At UFC 194, an event which set numerous records,[6] 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.[7]
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.[8] 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.[9]
| Status | Name | Weight Class | Information | Most Recent Promotion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 145 lb | Four-time Finnish medalist in Greco-Roman and Freestyle Wrestling. | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
 Francisco Barrio | 145 lb | Five-time international medalist in Greco-Roman Wrestling. | Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki | ||
| Ilias Bulaid | 145 lb | World Champion in Kickboxing. | Bellator | ||
 Mick Daly | 145 lb | Former Bellator Featherweight title challenger. | Bellator | ||
 Kiefer Crosbie | 170 lb | Centurion Fight Championship | |||
| Aisling Daly | 115 lb | Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. | Ultimate Fighting Championship | ||
 Dillon Danis | 170 lb | Seven-time international medalist and Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. | Bellator | ||
| James Gallagher | 145 lb | Three-time European medalist and Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. | Bellator | ||
| Hesdy Gerges | 245 lb | Former World Champion in Kickboxing. | HIT | ||
| Patrick Holohan | 125 lb | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. | Ultimate Fighting Championship | ||
| Luka Jelčić | 155 lb | Former FFC Lightweight Champion. | Retired | ||
 Brad Katona | 145 lb | TUF: Undefeated Featherweight Champion and current Brave CF Bantamweight Champion | Brave Combat Federation | ||
| Sinead Kavanagh | 155 lb | IMMAF: World Championships silver medalist. / Former Bellator Women's Featherweight title challenger. | Bellator | ||
| Denise Kielholtz | 125 lb | Current Bellator: Kickboxing Flyweight Champion. | Bellator | ||
 Taylor Lapilus | 135-145 lb | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
 Artem Lobov | 145 lb | TUF: Season 22 runner-up. | Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship | ||
| Conor McGregor | 145-170 lb | Former UFC Lightweight and Featherweight Champion / Former CWFC Lightweight and Featherweight Champion / Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. | Ultimate Fighting Championship | ||
| Frans Mlambo | 135 lbs | Copa Combate 2021 Winner | Combate Global | ||
| Brian Moore | 145 lb | Bellator | |||
 Gunnar Nelson | 170 lb | Four-time international medalist and Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu / Black belt in Gōjū-ryū Karate. | Ultimate Fighting Championship | ||
| Cathal Pendred | Former CWFC Welterweight Champion / Blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Cédric Doumbé | 170 lb | World Champion in Kickboxing. | Professional Fighters League | ||
 Paweł Polityło | 135 lb | Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki | |||
| Peter Queally | 155 lb | Bellator | |||
| Owen Roddy | 135-145 lb | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Cage Warriors | ||
 Daniele Scatizzi | 145-170 lb | Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. | Bellator | ||
| Richie Smullen | 155 lb | TUF: Undefeated contestant. | Bellator | ||
| Charlie Ward | 185 lb | Bellator | |||
 Johnny Walker | 185-265 lb | Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. | Ultimate Fighting Championship |
SBG and its team members have received various recognitions from The World MMA Awards:[10] [11] [12] [13]
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/):
Joys Entry, Belfast, Antrim.
North Point Business Park, Blackpool, Cork.
SBG Ireland HQUnit 13, Goldenbridge Industrial EstateInchicoreDublin 8D08 WK22
Cashel Road Industrial Estate, Clonmel, Tipperary
Mangerton View, Killarney, Kerry
Bunree Road, Bunree, Ballina, Mayo
Kilcruttin Business Park, Tullamore, Offaly
Riverside Leisure Centre, Strabane, Tyrone