John Byrne set to make pro debut at Celtic Gladiator 30

Irish amateur standout John Byrne is set to make the jump to the pro ranks this Sunday at Celtic Gladiator 30 in Manchester, England. The SBG Ireland fighter will meet Manchester Top Team’s Farukh Aligadzhiev in a 155lb Lightweight contest. 

Byrne has been competing in MMA for 10 years now racking up just under 20 amateur fights. During that time he’s accumulated several amateur titles at both Lightweight and Welterweight including titles in Battle Zone FC, Akuma FC and most recently in Cage Legacy. Where he defeated Adam Darby in what was his final amateur bout.

That fight that was set to be rematched in the pro ranks earlier in 2021 at Clan Wars 39, however, due to COVID-19 restrictions the event was sadly postponed along with all the matched fights on the card.

He’s no stranger to fighting overseas either having fought on the UK MMA regional scene on several occasions not to mention a pair of appearances representing Ireland at separate IMMAF European Open Championships. 

Across from the Dublin based fighter is a tough debut in Russian born, Manchester based Farukh Aligadzhiev. The well-rounded Aligadzhiev is turning pro after putting together a hattrick of finishes over his last three fights. His last win saw him pick up a regional amateur belt to add to his Rostov Open Cup win back in 2016. Both men have been without a fight for over a year now so will be eager to return to the cage, only this time they will put on a set of 4oz gloves. 

Byrne was set to be joined on the card by fellow SBG Ireland teammate Dee Begley, however, Begley had to withdraw from her bout with Dakota Ditcheva. The highly touted Ditcheva will now meet late replacement Kerry Isom in the curtain closer to Celtic Gladiator 30.

You can watch the fight live on Sunday on PPV here.