Cathal Pendred and Chris Fields progress to The Ultimate Fighter 19 house

Last night on the two hour premier episode of The Ultimate Fighter 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn, two Irish contenders – Cathal Pendred and Chris Fields – successfully moved to the next round and secured their places in The Ultimate Fighter house.

In the opening episode of the series, light heavyweight Chris “The Killing” Fields faced Josh Stansbury, of East Liverpool, Ohio.

Fields commented: “Josh seemed like a strong guy with serious power in his hands, and a very aggressive style. I was told before the fight that he had a good wrestling pedigree and that most of his losses came in the second round because he goes so hard in the first.”

In the first round the referee was forced to put a stop to the fight after Stansbury went for a takedown and suffered an injury to his knee. Fields was announced the winner and progressed into the house where he will continue in the quest to win a six figure contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization.

“I feel like I didn’t perform to the best of my ability,” said Fields. “I was carrying an injury into the fight – I had a popped rib – and I was taking muscle relaxants to stop the spasms. I was unhappy with the way the fight finished. I felt it was starting to go my way but I hate to see a fight end the way it did.”

Regardless of the circumstances of his win, the opportunity to move into The Ultimate Fighter house is a dream come true: “I have watched The Ultimate Fighter since the first season and I always told people that I would be on that show one day. They thought I was full of it – well I am usually full of it – but I did get on the show! Really, though, it was hard to take in at the time. For something I have been working towards for such a long time, it was great to finally achieve it.

“It was great to have a friend and training partner, Cathal Pendred, there too. That was obviously a massive advantage. Plus, me and Cathal have been on the same journey for a long time now so it was fitting for us to get to this stage together.”

Pendred, meanwhile, was the first competitor in the history of The Ultimate Fighter to get a bye into the house after every opponent he was set to meet in the Octagon® was forced to pull out through injury or failure to make weight.

Pendred said: “I was ready to fight. I fight because I love it. I had prepared myself both mentally and physically to fight and that was taken away from me. Having said that, I was also delighted to be through to the next stage.

“I really thought I would feel some sort of animosity from the other guys but most of them were aware of my accomplishments as a fighter and said that if any of them deserved to get through it, was me. That made me feel a lot better about the situation.

“It feels amazing to be part of the final 16 though. I know what I have to offer as a fighter. And now I get to show the world this on The Ultimate Fighter platform. This is just the next step on my path to greatness.”

Moving into the house, both Pendred and Fields were picked by coach BJ Penn to join his team, something which Pendred was delighted about: “I’m a big fan of BJ. The first live UFC event I ever went to; he headlined fighting for the lightweight title against Joe Stevenson.”

Having been handed an unexpected bye into the house, Pendred was selected by Penn to fight first in the house and will take on Hector Urbina, a tough opponent in Pendred’s eyes: “He showed great wrestling and slick submission skills. He finished a very tough guy in about two minutes. He was also the most experienced fighter out of all of the guys in the house.

“I’m Irish and he’s Mexican; two cultures known for their fighting spirit. This one will be emotional, this one will be heated. Expect a tough fight from two very passionate fighters looking to represent their countries with pride!”

For more show information, bios, videos and photos, visit TUF and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter under our new name @UltimateFighter or on Facebook.com/TUF.

The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn airs every Wednesday at 3 a.m. on BT Sport 1, and is repeated Thursdays at 10 p.m.

Press Release