Cathal Pendred gives his take on the Jon Jones debacle

The Irish UFC star weighed in his view on Jon Jones testing positive for a cocaine metabolite, in an interview with 2FM's Game On.

Pendred explained that he was "very shocked" by the news and was unhappy with the negative impact it had on the sport.

It is never good for the sport or the athlete... I'm not happy to see it

However, the Punisher did commend the pound-for-pound champion for checking himself into a rehab clinic and getting the help he needs to get through it.

It's good to see that he's taken steps...Hopefully he gets over it.

The test Jones failed, was a random one administered in December and Pendred believes that he added that Jones didn't have any traces of cocaine in his system during his fight with Daniel Cormier at UFC 182.

We'll have to wait and see for the post-fight test. It looks like he was caught out.

Pendred will return to his birthplace, Boston, when he fights on the undercard of UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs Siver on Sunday 18 January. He revealed his delight at getting a chance to fight in front of an American crowd with strong Irish ties.

It feels like I'm part of a Disney movie or something. I know the reception we're going to get over there, not just myself but all the Irish guys is going to be phenomenal. Boston is a place that rich with Irish history and Irish heritage and the people over there are very proud of their Irish heritage.

He takes on Sean Spencer in the final fight of the prelims. Pendred is confident he can defeat the American and maintain his unbeaten record under the UFC banner. He also sees the fight as an opportunity to showcase how he has progressed as a fighter, which he feels he didn't do in his last trip to the Octagon against Gasan Umalatov.

I've just been basing my training around me and trying to improve everything. To be great in this sport you have to be great in every area of the game. I've been really working my stand up and this guy's favourite is the stand up area. I'm very happy and very comfortable to stand in there and exchange punches with this guy. I've a lot of new stuff and a lot of things I've been working on and I feel I've got better. I wanted to show them in my last fight and I didn't get the opportunity to do it but I think in this fight, with the opponent I have, I'm going to be able to showcase all these new things. I think the fans of the UFC are going to like it.

Hat-tip to Game On