Cathal Pendred picked up the win over a UFC veteran he was looking for, and soon he’ll find out if it was enough to finally get him signed by the promotion.
The Irish prospect defeated Che Mills via third round TKO (corner stoppage) at Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 55 on Saturday at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland. Pendred’s CWFC welterweight title was supposed to be on the line, but the bout was changed to a non-title fight on Friday after Mills missed weight by seven-tenths of a pound.
After the fight, Pendred, who was joined in the cage by his mother wearing a “Pendred UFC” T-shirt, took it upon himself to campaign one more time for a shot in the big show.
“Who wants to see me fight in the UFC on Aug. 17 in Boston?” he asked the partisan crowd. “Let me hear you! Let’s go Dana [White], baby!”
Pendred dominated both rounds rather convincingly with a steady stream of takedowns, submission attempts and ground-and-pound. He thought he was close to finishing Mills at the end of the second round while he was landing punches in mount position, but referee Marc Goddard decided against stopping the fight.
When Pendred secured mount again early in the third round, Mills soon complained of a shoulder injury, and his corner subsequently threw in the towel.
As a result, Pendred extended his unbeaten streak to eight in a row and improved his overall MMA record to 13-2. The Boston-born Irishman has been pushing for a spot on the upcoming UFC on FOX Sports 1 debut card in Boston on Aug. 17, and he insinuated on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour that he had already been told that a win over Mills would be the catalyst to get him signed by the UFC.
Recently, Pendred’s teammates from the Straight Blast Gym, Gunnar Nelson and Conor McGregor, have gotten the call from the UFC and are currently a combined 3-0 inside the Octagon.
White was asked about Pendred’s chances of fighting in Boston at the UFC on FUEL TV 9 post-fight press conference in April, but he told a reporter, “don’t know who he is yet.”
Pendred hopes that changed on Saturday night.