Paddy Pimblett’s come a long since his days as the teenage poster boy for Cage Warriors
‘The Baddy’ is set to face the toughest opponent of his career, Michael Chandler, at UFC 314 on April 12.
Paddy Pimblett earned a fight with ‘Iron Mike’ by winning six consecutive fights since joining the UFC in 2021
The 30-year-old earned a call to MMA’s premier league by becoming one of Europe’s biggest stars with Cage Warriors, where he won a featherweight title and amassed a 16-3 professional MMA record during an eight-year run with the promotion.
Paddy Pimblett’ got put to sleep in first MMA loss
By October 2013, Pimblett was a 4-0 prospect and one of the most he most talked about people in UK MMA.
The 18-year-old got booked to face 1-1 bantamweight fighter Cameron Else at Cage Warriors 60.
Another win seemed a sure thing, but Pimblett ended up suffering a shock loss within one minute.
The submission specialist jumped guard at the start of the fight before getting caught in an anaconda choke during a subsequent scramble.
Else, who is a former Paratrooper, kept squeezing until his opponent went out cold after 35 seconds.
Pimblett showed heart by refusing to tap, but it ultimately left him wide-eyed on the floor in a scary scene.
The loss actually aged really well as Else went on to beat more big stars and earn a shot in the UFC.
Two fights and two TKO defeats later Else was cut, but he proved that Pimblett didn’t lose to a scrub.
Paddy Pimblett’s angry reaction to UFC 311
All these years later, Pimblett still doesn’t believe that tapping to a choke submission is necessary.
The world found that out when he recently went viral for ignoring his rival’s tap during a gym fight.
After Islam Makhachev beat Renato Moicano at UFC 311 in January, Pimblett aimed an angry rant at the Brazilian, who he has been chasing a fight with, for giving up so quickly on the biggest night of his life.
“It’s over,” Pimblett said in a viral video of his live reaction to the UFC 311 main event.
“Ah, you f***ing tapped that quick, Renato? Go asleep, lad! Go out on your shield.
“I f***ing hate that, you know. You’re in a f***ing choke, you’re not gonna snap your neck. Go asleep.”