Cathal Pendred: ‘I Would 100 Percent Fight’ CM Punk

BOSTON—“I would 100 percent fight him,” UFC middleweight Cathal Pendred tells Breitbart Sports about a rumored matchup with CM Punk.

The former WWE champion recently transitioned from professional wrestling to mixed-martial arts. He looks to compete, like Pendred, at 185 pounds and foresees his first bout sometime in the middle of 2015. In the aftermath of the charismatic wrestler’s startling announcement, numerous fighters, including Pendred, voiced an interest in welcoming him to the cage.

“My name is linked to him because I opened my mouth about a possible fight,” Pendred confesses. “But I’ve recently learned that if you announce things the UFC haven’t officially announced yet you can get yourself in trouble. So I’m keeping tight-lipped about that now.”

Pendred eked out a decision victory over Sean Spencer at UFC Fight Night at TD Garden on January 18. The Boston-born, Dublin-raised fighter used takedowns and a serviceable standup game to overcome a Spencer first-round bomb to win the fight before a heavily Irish crowd in Boston.

Whether Pendred raises his profile by landing the fight against the unproven but massively popular CM Punk, he believes that whoever matches up against him will see a boost to his name.

“I think CM Punk getting signed is a great thing for the sport,” Pendred opines. “He’s a massive personality, not just in the United States but globally. He’s going to bring a lot more attention to the sport. He’s going to bring new fans to the sport. I think the person that gets to fight him is going to be very fortunate in that they’re going to get new fans and a lot of attention as well.”