![\"\"](\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/2.41213547.jpg\")
A former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter is getting ready for a battle of a different kind as he prepares to step into the political arena.<\/p>\nA former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter is getting ready for a battle of a different kind as he prepares to step into the political arena.<\/p>\n
Dubliner Paddy Holohan, who fought five times in the UFC, has decided to run in the upcoming local elections in May.<\/p>\n
He announced his candidacy for Sinn F\u00e9in on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Mr Holohan, who was known as The Hooligan when he was a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, described himself as an \u201caccidental politician\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said he got so frustrated by watching what was happening politically in the country that he felt he had to do something.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mistakenly fell into it,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m an accidental politician.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it was really difficult for young people in Dublin to picture a future when the cost of living in the capital was so high.<\/p>\n
He added that he owned a gym but could not afford to buy a house.<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old said he was going to take a martial arts approach of improving a little bit at a time when it came to his political career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just going to be as transparent and be as honest as I can. I\u2019m not going to bombard myself with a million things to do. I\u2019m going to make sure that when I take something on, that I focus on doing that thing on that day to the best of my ability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not coming in here as an expert. I\u2019m not coming in here as a know-it-all. I\u2019m coming in here I\u2019d say as a white belt. I\u2019m a white belt in this and I\u2019m looking forward to working on my ranks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The MMA fighter, who grew up in a single parent household in Jobstown in Dublin, spent a lot of time in Lenadoon in Belfast as a child in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n
He said it gave him a valuable insight into life both north and south of the border.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I used to go up there I had a big Ronnie Drew accent so sometimes I had to keep down my accent in places that we were. It was kind of weird for a kid to be going through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He took up jujitsu and MMA when he was 17-years-old because he \u201cwanted to do something with his life\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I made that decision to get my act together, that\u2019s when my life changed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like an anti-depressant to me. It had the same reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Holohan was forced to retire from the UFC in 2016 due to a rare blood disorder. He now runs his own gym, SBG Dublin 24 in Tallaght, and it will be the Tallaght South electoral area of South Dublin County Council where he will be seeking votes in May.<\/p>\n