Dana promises UFC return to Dublin in 2010 !

Irish MMA fans rejoice – the UFC is coming back to The Emerald Isle in 2010.

During a Wednesday press conference for this weekend's "UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy" event, UFC president Dana White told the gathered crowd that the promotion would return to Ireland before the end of the year.

"We're going back to Dublin this year for sure," White said.

White didn't offer any further specifics on the promotion's plans for an Irish show.

The UFC has visited the Republic of Ireland just once before. In January 2009, the promotion visited The O2 in Dublin where 9,369 boisterous fans turned out for UFC 93, a card that featured a Dan Henderson split-decision win over Rich Franklin in the evening's main event.

The night was also marked by a pair of "Fight of the Night" awards as Marcus Davis' win over Chris Lytle and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's third-round stoppage of Mark Coleman were each awarded with a bonus.

In June 2007, the UFC visited Northern Ireland's largest city, Belfast, for UFC 72. Despite just 7,850 fans attending the event, the event was noted for its electric atmosphere.

Franklin also handled main-event duties that night in a unanimous-decision win over Yushin Okami.

As for U.S. locales, White handled the typical battery of requests with his typical "We're coming everywhere" response. However, the UFC exec did re-affirm the organization's plans to visit Oakland, Calif., later this year and said Orlando was also a potential location for a future fight card.