UFC contender Cathal Pendred took a shot at CM Punk’s striking abilities, based on a short clip of Punk sparring shown on FOX Sports 1, which ultimately led to a pretty vicious “Twitter War” between the Irish contender and the WWE Superstar turned UFC prospect.
On Tuesday, Pendred, an Irish fighter who is friends with one of UFC’s biggest stars — “The Notorious” Conor McGregor — took to social media to mock the striking abilities of Punk, writing, “CM Punk on the pads making me look like Muhammad Ali,” in response to the clip that shows Punk hitting pads at the Roufusport Gym in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Punk, never one to back down from a verbal exchange, fired back at Pendred on Twitter, alluding to the fact that Pendred may have been on the positive end of a few “gift decisions” from UFC judges in the past.
“Ali wasn’t a boring twat. Sweet emojis,” wrote Punk in response to Pendred. “Focus more on you, maybe you’ll win a fight without a gift from the judges.”
Pendred then pulled the veteran card, replying to Punk’s response by reminding him that he has actually won 17 cage fights, compared to Punk’s zero.
“I’ve actually won 17 professional fights,” said Pendred. “How many have you won?”
Finally, Punk, who refused to back down, shared his belief that Pendred might not be the most exciting, crowd-pleasing fighter on the UFC roster.
“Zero, but I know you’re supposed to put the guy you’re fighting to sleep, not the audience.” wrote Punk, who concluded by writing, “F*ck off.”