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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Ireland's Cathal Pendred had a lot on his mind on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 46. Not only was he fighting in front of a home country crowd, but coming into the UFC off the worst season of The Ultimate Fighter, where he himself had disappointed, he felt the need to change opinions on him.
"To be honest with you, I wanted to go out there and put on a performance and stop the guy because I'm coming off the back of a [TUF] season where Dana [White] wasn't too impressed with the fights," Pendred said at the post-fight press conference (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). "I wanted to change his mind about me, Mike [King], and everyone on the show."
He might not have done that much, but he did score a come from behind win that also earned him a $50,000 bonus for the "Fight of the Night." That comeback came because referee Marc Goddard allowed him to continue in the first round when he could have stopped the fight, as King had him hurt badly in several spots that could have warranted the stoppage.
Instead, Pendred did just enough to keep himself in the fight in Goddard's eyes, King punched himself out trying to finish the fight, and Pendred took over in the second. For that, Pendred is forever grateful to the man he considers the best in the business.
"I was worried about it at one stage, but thankfully, you have one of the best referees – if not the best referee in the world – in there with me, Marc Goddard," Pendred said. "He knew I was still in the fight. He could see I was still trying to defend myself and I was still trying to fight back. I'm very grateful that Marc Goddard gave me the opportunity to do that. It allowed me to be the 'Fight of the Night.' I changed my live tonight, getting that $50,000 [bonus]."
Penick's Analysis: While the finish and comeback were certainly entertaining, this wasn't necessarily a redemption for season 19 of The Ultimate Fighter. Pendred did not look good in that first round, as he was getting beat up all over the cage. That he survived is a testament to his toughness, yes, but the hype for him coming into the season has long since dissipated, and this didn't help. That the comeback was absolutely aided by King gassing out badly is bit of an indictment of King as well. To be clear, this was a needed victory, a great, rewarding moment for him in front of a crazy home crowd, bringing him more money than he's ever made to fight before. But that doesn't make the fight a high-level affair, either.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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