Are Pepe's days as the in-house Bernabeu hard-man numbered? Real Madrid are reportedly keen on playing host to a UFC event headlined by Conor McGregor. The Irishman's last six scraps have all been in the United States and his desire to fight closer to home mixed with the UFC's interest in expanding to Europe could have all roads leading to Madrid.
If you're going to break into Europe then selling out an 80,000 seater stadium ain't a bad way to do it. The Bernabeu has proved its versatility to host concerts and beambacks before, so a transformation into a fighting arena would be no problem at all. According to Irish radio station Newstalk, Real Madrid would be open the idea of hosting a UFC event between May and July.
Surely McGregor's new pal Cristiano Ronaldo can put a good word in and let the Irish fighter borrow his stage. If it fails to happen and they've already bought the ring? Paddling pool, baby oil, Rafa Benitez and Carlo Ancelotti. Let's make it happen. Whatever happens, this is the only way fighting should happen in football stadiums. Much more organised than four-pint-JD-Sports-cladded-pikeys throwing seats at each other at the Olympic Stadium in the League Cup.
