Irishman Cathal Pendred captures welterweight strap at Cage Warriors 52

Photo: Dolly Clew

Irishman Cathal Pendred won the Cage Warriors welterweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over Gael Grimaud in London last night.

The Forum Arena in Kentish Town, London sounded like The Helix, Dublin as Pendred made his way to the cage and continued during the bout with chants of “You’ll never beat the Irish” and “The Fields of Athenry” ringing out throughout the arena as Pendred earned 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47 scorecards.

Pendred is unbeaten in all five of his Cage Warriors bouts dating back to May 2011 with victories over top talent like Bruno Carvalho and David Bielkheden.

We spoke to Cathal following his win last night

“I really thought i was going to knock him out, i thought he was weak in that area, but he was pretty decent in the stand up and we had some good exchanges.

“It’s not up to me, whatever happens happens. I’m happy to keep getting training, getting better, and whatever is next is next.

“I felt i gave it too easy, i didn’t fight the take down enough, I’m very very hard to take down, I just relaxed for a little second, but I got back to my feet and didn’t let him take me down again”

“It was insane, it felt nearly as loud as it was in Dublin in June, it was pretty incredible. I’d like to say thanks to everyone. There was a lot of friends and family there but there was also a lot of Irish people living in London that came to support me and that’s great.

“That’s the great thing about the Irish, they support each other no matter where they are in the world.”