Cathal Pendred Says Irish Fighters Are Ready to Make an Impact on the World Stage
Posted by Jeremy Thomas on 03.04.2013
Cage Warriors champion talks about the impending Irish invasion...
Cage Warriors welterweight champion Cathal Pendred recently spoke with MMAjunkie about the rise of Irish talent in MMA and more. Check out the highlights:
On Irish MMA talent: "We were a bit behind, but we've built up some great gyms and great fighters."
On Gunnar Nelson: "He's magical on the ground. It gives me great confidence hanging with a guy at that level. I'm measuring myself against him."
On his own ground game: "I'm no slouch on the ground. My last fights were against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts. I'm well capable of handling myself on the ground, and when it's on the ground, I do damage there."
On being the Cage Warriors welterweight champion: "I believe I'm the best welterweight in Europe outside the UFC, and Cage Warriors is the biggest available title in Europe. So basically it makes me the European champion if I have the Cage Warriors belt."
On Irish fighters being ready to make an impact: "It was like the U.K. that was behind America for a while. Then after 'The Ultimate Fighter 3' and Michael Bisping, that just grew the sport, and now the U.K. has some great fighters. It's the same thing with Ireland...everyone in our gym seems to be quite young, in our mid to early 20s, and we're all ready to go," he said. "I think the Irish fighters are going to become very popular in the U.S. once we break into the UFC. It's something about us that Irish people just have natural fight in them. People are going to see that now that we're on the world stage."
