UFC headed to Ireland?

England might not be the only place the UFC visits in the United Kingdom this year, according to FightNetwork.com.

We told you last week about potential plans to hold UFC 70 in Manchester, England, which would feature British light heavyweight Michael Bisping.

To read more about that post click here.

Well, there's now speculation that the UFC will hold "four or five" shows throughout England and possibly Belfast in Northern Ireland in 2007.

Here's a snip:

It's widely known that the UFC are looking to run shows up and down the country, not just in London. The strongest rumored plan of attack includes two shows in London, one in Manchester and one in Belfast, Northern Ireland. All of these venues are well served by airports, so there's the transport infrastructure for the imported talent. All are centers of tourism so the traveling contingent will have plenty of accommodation to choose from and they're all easy to get to. Four shows is a reasonable expectation based on their usual show scheduling if they start in the Spring....

(This column also offers up a tentative date for UFC 70 — April 28.)

Keep in mind, that the title of this article is, "The UK Rumor Mill." We have a lot of readers and UFC fans across Europe, so I don't want anyone to start celebrating just yet.

In fact, none of this has been confirmed by the UFC ... yet.

FightNetwork.com, however, is a reliable source.

So, perhaps a few pints of Guinness are in order.