Cathal Pendred planning a six-month UFC hiatus to contest in a professional boxing fight

Say it ain't so, Cathal.

Cathal Pendred is a great character. He's always good for a zing or two and he doesn't hold back with his opinions. But he's going to be parting ways with the UFC world for a half of a year anyway if his plans come in place. He wrote this morning that he was going to step away from the octagon and trade it for the ring for a while and, intially, we thought - at least we hoped - that it was just a wisecrack against Barry McGuigan after the Irish boxing legend hailed Conor McGregor's boxing skills and abilities on his feet as the reason for his success. But Pendred, who has won four and lost one of his UFC fights to date, announced that he would now be taking a six-month break from MMA to go and focus on his 'stand up game' as he pursues a professional boxing fight. https://twitter.com/Pendred/status/622346520596226048 Of course, he has the small matter of Dublin to take care of first. https://twitter.com/Pendred/status/622377715761573888