The UFC have announced that Ireland’s Cathal Pendred will face his TUF 19 counterpart Mike King (5-0) on July 19 at The O2 in Dublin.
Having been one of the most talked about fighters heading into The Ultimate Fighter Season 19, Pendred (13-2-1) made it to the middleweight semi-final round as the third pick of Team Penn before being eliminated by Eddie Gordon via a split-decision. In contrast, King was eliminated in the quarter-finals, also by Gordon.
Pendred’s efforts on the show may not have lived up to all the pre-TUF excitement, however the former Cage Warriors Middleweight Champion has nevertheless achieved the goal he set out for, and will fight on a UFC card in his home country.
Prior to TUF, Pendred’s last outing was against UFC veteran Che Mills at Cage Warriors 55 in June, 2013. The TKO win over Mills was Pendred’s first stoppage following a string of decision victories, he then went on to vacate the title.
With a background in high school wrestling, the USA’s King will make his UFC debut undefeated as a professional, in addition to a 4-0 amateur run. Out of his five career victories, all have come via stoppages including four first-round submissions.
UFC Fight Night 46 will be available to stream on UFC Fight Pass.
UFC Fight Night 46 fight card:
Conor McGregor vs. Diego Brandao
Zak Cummings vs. Gunnar Nelson
Ian McCall vs. Brad Pickett
Ilir Latifi vs. Tom Lawlor
Cody Donovan vs. Nikita Krylov
Phil Harris vs. Neil Seery
Trevor Smith vs. Tor Troeng
Naoyuki Kotani vs. Norman Parke
Patrick Holohan vs. Josh Sampo
Mike King vs. Cathal Pendred
Photo credit: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors
