IRISH MIXED MARTIAL ARTS fighter Cathal Pendred has finally earned himself a contract with the UFC.

The 26-year-old middleweight confirmed this afternoon that he will make his debut in the Octagon in his hometown during the highly-anticipated Dublin event at the O2 Arena on 19 July.

Pendred, a former Cage Warriors welterweight champion, has been tipped to make the move to MMA’s premier organisation for some time now and last August chose to try out for reality television show The Ultimate Fighter in a bid to realise his dream.

He was successful in earning a place on season 19 of the programme and entered the house in Las Vegas along with SBG Ireland team-mate Chris Fields.

After winning a quarter-final bout for Team Penn in the second episode, Pendred narrowly lost out to Eddie Gordon in the semi-final (which aired in the US last night) — with UFC president Dana White even believing the Dubliner deserved the decision.

However, that defeat has paved the way for inclusion on the Dublin card where he will fight fellow TUF contestant Mike King next month and SevereMMA are reporting that it will be the first of a ten-fight contract with the UFC.

Pendred joins Conor McGregor, Neil Seery, Paddy Holohan and Norman Parke as the fifth Irishman to be confirmed for the night.

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