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One of the more popular rising personalities on the UFC roster is Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett. The ‘Baddy’ came to the Octagon with an already vocal fanbase from his time as a champion and star for the UK-based Cage Warriors promotion. But with lots of hype comes lots of pressure.
In his latest bout, the 28-year-old took on New York’s Jared Gordon, for what was intended to be an action filled striking and scrambling battle. The result was something more tepid, and much less decisive than Pimblett—or his fans—might have hoped. In fact, in the eyes of many, it was a fight Gordon should have won.
Gordon started strong in a competitive first round, and picked up the last round on two judges scorecards. In the end, however, judges awarded Pimblett with a unanimous decision victory.
“I was robbed everyone knows it,” Gordon wrote, of the fight on social media. “I…I can cry about it, but I been back from worst and Gods plan is the best plan, so I know there’s something big to come from it.”
Paddy Pimblett denies favoritism in decision
For his part, Pimblett has remained defiant in the face of critics who suggest that the decision should have gone the other way.
“I thought I won two rounds to one, and I watched the fight back, and I thought I won two rounds to one,” Pimblett explained in a recent interview with Bleacher Report. “I’ll be honest, it was a lot closer than I thought it was. I never dominated, but I think the only clear round in the whole fight is the second, and that’s for me. The third round, he just holds me. He doesn’t really do nothing.”
And he especially balks at the idea that there was any favoritism at play, what with him being a fighter that the UFC has seemingly invested a lot of time in promoting. For anyone that thinks Paddy Pimblett might be the beneficiary of something Tony Ferguson once called ‘Dana White privilege’, the Next Gen MMA talent wants to set the record straight.
“People try to say, ‘Oh, it’s because he’s Dana’s boy,'” Pimblett said. “How am I Dana’s boy? He came on my podcast. I’m not his boy. I’m just a fighter on his roster. People say he influences judges. He can’t.
“That’s got nothing to do with it. I thought I won. A lot of people in the crowd thought I won. When I’ve spoken to people, a lot have shared that with the commentary and stuff people thought that Jared Gordon won. But then, when they watched it back without the commentary on, they thought I won.”
Pimblett undergoes surgery on injured ankle
For now, Paddy Pimblett’s return to the Octagon has no set time table. The Brit recently went under the knife to repair a torn ankle tendon suffered in his bout with Gordon. And is planning to follow up his injury rehab with a wedding. Given the controversy surrounding the fight, however, he has said he’d be open to a rematch.
“Yeah, I want to punch his head in toward the end of the year,” Pimblett said of the idea of fighting Gordon again. “I am going to run it back. I hope he beats Bobby Green, because I’ll snap his arm for him in a round. Had a boxing match with him and I still won, because you’re sh-t.”
Paddy Pimblett’s MMA record
Pimblett’s pro record currently stands at 20-3. He came to the UFC with a 16-3 record, which he amassed mostly in the Cage Warriors promotion. He’s won all four of his UFC bouts thus far, three via stoppage.
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