SBG Ireland coach splits open eye during Bellator Dublin

SBG Ireland coach Dave Roche reportedly split his eye open off the cage door at Bellator Dublin. The gym's head honcho, John Kavanagh, also the head coach of UFC superstar Conor McGregor, was the first to share the news.

Kavanagh also wondered if it might be the first time in MMA history that a coach got nicked by a cage door. The 45-year-old wrote on Twitter:

"Is this another first? @SBG_Ireland MMA coach Dave Roche split his eye open Friday night at #BellatorDublin off cage door. Thankfully a cutman was available to close it"

John Kavanagh and Dave Roche were supporting SBG Ireland fighters as Bellator staged its second event in Dublin in less than a year. Roche is the head coach of the Straight Blast Gym's Tallaght branch while Kavanagh heads SBG Ireland.

Roche is also a former fighter with a 3-0 professional record. One of his wins came under the Cage Warriors banner, which has been the launching pad of stars like Conor McGregor and Paddy Pimblett.

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How SBG Ireland fighters fared at Bellator 285

SBG Ireland had an overall good showing at the 3Arena in their hometown of Dublin at Bellator 285. Luca Poclit was the first rep from the gym, making his Bellator debut opposite Dante Schiro. The 33-year-old Irishman shocked everyone by choking his opponent with an extremely unorthodox reverse arm-triangle submission in the second round.

The next fighter from the gym was 24-year Darragh Kelly, who picked up a unanimous decision win over Kye Stevens. The 'Moville Mauler' dominated his opponent on the ground throughout the fifteen minutes to earn a 30-27, 30-26, 30-26 victory.

Another SBG staple, Ciaran Clarke scored an impressive comeback win over Rafael Hudson at Bellator 285. Despite getting knocked down in the opening frame, Drogheda's favorite bounced back to score a third-round submission win.

However, SBG's success did not translate into the main-event of the night featuring their Ireland's Peter Queally and former UFC champion Benson Henderson. 'Smooth' dominated Queally in a drawn out affair, earning a 49-45 victory on the scorecards even after a point deduction.