A trash-talking radio host was shocked when Paddy Pimblett called to confront him on Tuesday evening.
‘The Baddy’ is known to MMA fans as the blonde-haired Englishman who has defied expectations to go 6-0 in the UFC and earn his place among the lightweight top 15.
When he’s not training for a fight, Pimblett is usually doing food challenges or watching his favorite soccer team, Liverpool FC.
So, when a radio presenter began trash-talking his hometown club after their latest win, the 29-year-old got on the phone and playfully put him in his place.
Paddy Pimblett defends his team
Jason Cundy is a former professional soccer player, who notably played for one of Liverpool’s biggest rivals, Chelsea, during his career, which came to an end in the year 2000.
Since then, he’s become a popular pundit on the radio station talkSPORT, where he was voicing his grievances with Pimblett’s team after they recorded an impressive 4-0 win over German side Bayer Leverkusen.
Cundy complained about the club’s famous anthem, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, which fans of the club sing before every game that takes place at Anfield stadium, where Pimblett hopes to headline a UFC event before his career is over.
The 54-year-old went on the take issue with Liverpool’s good form under new manager Arne Slot, who has shocked everyone by winning 14 of his first 16 games at the helm.
“They’re starting to annoy me now, they just get results,” Cundy said. “You know they’re good, but then you come away thinking 4-0? They just spanked Leverkusen 4-0?
“I think there’s probably more to come from this Liverpool side, that’s what’s worrying me.”
Cundy was talking to a Liverpool fan, who just happened to be sitting next to Pimblett. The UFC superstar snatched the phone and started giving his thoughts on the club’s good form.
“I did expect this,” he said. “Before Slot came, I said Jurgen [Klopp] was our generation’s [Bill] Shankly and Arne Slot was going to be our generation’s [Bob] Paisley. He’s going to win more than Jurgen did, and I can’t wait to be proved right.”
Cundy went quiet as Pimblett talked up his team, and it didn’t go unnoticed. The retired soccer player’s co-host pointed out that he had stopped complaining about Liverpool after being confronted by a world-class fighter
Jamie O’Hara commented: “You’ve gone a bit quiet now haven’t you!”
Cundy remained quiet until Pimblett hung up. Only then did he decide to come out of his shell with a comment that suggested he thinks Pimblett couldn’t hurt a fly, saying: “He’s all mouth and no trousers, Paddy.”
Cundy added with a laugh: “He’s not still there, is he?”
When is Paddy Pimblett’s next fight?
Unless he bumps into Cundy, it seems Pimblett will not be fighting until 2025.
Famously, he has a tough time making lightweight. Pimblett is known for ballooning in weight when he’s not in camp, so he needs extra time to ensure he makes the 156lb lightweight limit safely.
With the year almost over, the popular Englishman doesn’t feel confident he could make weight correctly and says the only way he’ll fight before 2024 is over is if the UFC offers him a big-name welterweight opponent.
Pimblett said in October: “It’s too late now to make lightweight for the UFC events at the end of the year. I’d rather not kill myself trying to make weight – but if they want to get me Colby [Covington] or McGregor at welterweight, I’d do it.
“I’d fight either at welterweight because they aren’t massive welterweights. I don’t think many welterweights are that big compared to me. I only realized how big of a lightweight I am when I fought Bobby.”