Nordic MMA Flashback: David ‘Buster‘ Bielkheden vs. Cathal ‘The Punisher‘ Pendred

October 13, 2013

This fight brings us back to June, 2012. It is the Swede David Bielkheden that will look to improve his record and get back to the big shows by beating the young and talented Irishman Cathal Pendred. The fight takes place on the Cage Warriors 47 event in Dublin, Ireland. It was a exciting and grinding battle, which deserves a replay for sure.

David Bielkheden throws a kick against top opponent Mitsuhiro Ishida in his Pride FC debut. Photo from Sherdog.

Meet the Swede David ‘Buster’ Bielkheden, a gritty and experienced competitor with a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a solid stand up game to go with it. You’re probably well familiar with this man, so let’s see where he’s at his career before his meeting with Cathal.

What has he done up to the point of the fight?

David started with his long career in FinnFights as many Nordic fighters do, and his first opponent would be the great wrestler and grappler Arben Latifi. His debut would be remembered as a bloody one, but it was also a loss. The next 5 fights would all be wins, even beating a familiar name in Charles McCarthy.

David fell in love with BJJ early in his career, and even moved to Rio de Janeiro to train and be a part of the Brazilian Top Team, where he would exchange knowledge with the pioneer and greats of the sport like Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Arona and Rousimar Palhares. David went on to fight in organisations such as FinnFights, Shooto, Cage Warriors, Pride, UFC and M-1.

A true veteran with wins and losses over great names such as Mitsuhiro Ishida, Diego Sanchez, Jess Liaudin, Mark Bocek and Daniel Acacio have made David a fan favorite in Sweden. Before his fight with Cathal Pendred, he have had a rough couple of fights and only winning one of his last 4 fights. It was time to face a big name and resurrect his career.

Cathal Pendred, another talentful Irishman from the SBG Ireland gym. Photo by Dolly Clew for Cage Warriors.

Cathal Pendred fights out of SBG Ireland, the very same gym that created and molded Conor McGregor. And Cathal have showed great progress in his MMA career as well. He started out as a rugby player, and when he went to College in San Diego he opened up his eyes for MMA and BJJ. When he got back to Ireland, he was a man possessed.

What has he done up to the point of the fight?

The Irishman have mostly fought local talent, and started his career in 2009. From his debut and up to his fight with Bielkheden, he have had 12 fights in 3 years. 2 losses in the early stages of his development, 1 draw and 9 wins. His best opponents was most definitely Nicholas ‘Nico’ Musoke, a Swede that just inked a UFC contract with a current record of 10-2-1. Cathal controlled that fight and earned the decision victory.

He also fought a draw with talentful Danny Mitchell at Cage Warriors – Fight Night 2. Especially the Irishmen have been prediciting a UFC debut for Cathal in the near future, and now the rest of Europe recognizes his talent and dedication. So stakes were high when he faced his toughest test yet, the Pride and UFC veteran David Bielkheden. Oh, and by the way, he’s only 24.