Pendred wants King fight bumped up to UFC Dublin main card

Cathal Pendred believes his fight with fellow TUF 19 cast member Mike King, scheduled to be contended at UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs Brandao, should be moved to the main card given his popularity in Ireland.

The Dubliner, who has main-evented a plethora of cards across the UK and Ireland before signing with UFC, outlined why he thinks moving his fight up the card would be a good idea with Irish television stations set to broadcast the sold out event.

“I think the Irish fans want to see me fight on the main card and now that 3e are going to show the fights, I just think it would work out well for everyone.

“There have only been four fights announced for the main card, usually there are five, so I want to get the last spot. I’m not the most popular Irish fighter out there, but I’m probably the second most popular so let’s give the fans what they want,” he said.

The former Cage Warriors welterweight champion highlighted why his meeting with Mike King is not just the average bout pitting debutant against debutant.

Pendred said: “If it was a pay-per-view event I could understand but it’s not like this is just two guys making their UFC debuts. I’m a former world champion, he’s undefeated and we’re both after getting a lot of exposure from TUF.

“The Irish fans have been waiting five years for the UFC come back and it’s the fastest selling UFC event in history – the fans made that happen and I think a good way to repay them would be to put another Irish lad on the main card.”

The SBG man claimed that he would be looking to put on an exciting show in front of his home crowd.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to make my UFC debut, I want it to be an unforgettable performance. I’m gonna make a statement, I’ve been grinding away in Iceland and now I’m ready to take this guy out.”

@PetesyCarroll