Cathal Pendred Announces Retirement From MMA

Irish fighter Cathal Pendred has announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 28.

In a statement Pendred revealed that he’d made the decision to hang up his gloves as his passion for the sport had dwindled in recent times.

A former Cage Warriors welterweight champion, Pendred made his way to the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter Season 19 where he reached the semi-final stages.

While he lacked finesse as a fighter and was often criticized for his grinding style, Pendred was hailed as a hero in his native Ireland and initially put together a solid run in the Octagon, stringing together a four-fight winning streak in the middleweight division over a 12 month period.

However, Pendred came unstuck in the second half of this year, first losing out by split decision to John Howard at UFC 189, then suffering a first round KO loss against Tom Breese at UFC Fight Night 76 in Dublin.

Pendred retires with an overall 17-4-1 career record. Read his full retirement statement below.

“I am a passionate person and I always give 100% to what I do. I have been passionate about MMA for a long time and my focus on the sport has been my driving force for the last 9 years.

I now find that my passion is no longer what it was and I feel that it is time for me to move on. I have other interests that I want to pursue. The time is right to close one door and open another. My love of MMA remains with me. I intend to maintain my involvement with the sport, but I no longer wish to compete.

I have developed as a person because of mixed martial arts, as I learned to cope with the discipline and demands of the sport. MMA has made me a stronger person. This strength will carry through into other areas of my life as I move on to pursue new goals.”

Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.