Paddy Pimblett’s team have been able to use Charles Oliveira as an example.
Following their stare down in the cage at UFC 317, it looks like Pimblett will be challenging Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title in the near future.
Pimblett was critical of Oliveira’s approach to the vacant lightweight title fight that took place this past weekend after ‘Do Bronx’ was stopped in the first round.
While the fight may have ended quickly, the Brit’s head coach recently spoke about what they were able to learn from this matchup before they face ‘El Matador’ next time out.
Rather than focusing on what Topuria did right, Pimblett’s team have been able to use Oliveira’s performance as an example.
Paddy Pimblett’s coach says Charles Oliveira provided a blueprint of what not to do against Ilia Topuria and Michael Chandler
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Next Generation MMA’s Paul Rimmer spoke about Paddy Pimblett challenging Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title.
Rimmer stated that the team have already been analyzing ‘El Matador’ for some time after knowing that they’d be facing him soon once the former featherweight champion moved up a division.
Pimblett’s head coach, who was also critical of Charles Oliveira’s approach at UFC 317, said that ‘Do Bronx’ provides them with a good blueprint of what not to do when facing Topuria.
However, this won’t be the first time that the Brazilian fan favorite has helped them gain some invaluable insight.
Rimmer also said that they highlighted Oliveira’s mistakes in his previous fight with Michael Chandler at UFC 309 to help them prepare for UFC 314, where Pimblett stopped Chandler in the third round.
“The best thing for us is watching him fight more against lightweights. Charles is a great one for us because he shows you what not to do in a lot of fights.
“With the Chandler fight, we watched Charles fight Chandler and then we used a load of stuff that Charles didn’t do in that fight which he should’ve done and we used that to make up the victory in the last one.
“So, we just watched Charles fight Ilia now and there’s a lot of stuff you can see that you shouldn’t do against Ilia so like I say, we learn constantly.”
Paul Rimmer says Ilia Topuria is easier to replicate than Paddy Pimblett
While Paul Rimmer believes that the best way for them to break down Ilia Topuria is to see him fight lightweights, there’s not a lot of that footage out there.
That being said, Paddy Pimblett’s coach is also confident that they present a challenge which is also difficult to prepare for.
Rimmer made the argument that due to Pimblett’s unique style, he’s harder to replicate than Topuria.
“Everyone thinks Ilia is this like unbeatable bogeyman in this division and that you should fear him and all that sort of stuff. But, Paddy’s also on a long win streak and I can tell you this right now, if you had to go and find a sparring partner that matches exactly what Paddy is and exactly what Ilia is, I’d be able to find a better Ilia than I can a Paddy. I can tell you that right now.”