Paddy Pimblett sees no reason to call his shots regarding potential future opponents.
“The Baddy” is back in action this weekend (Sat., July 23, 2022) at UFC London and looks to captivate his country live and in person for a second consecutive occasion. Quickly becoming one of the bigger stars in mixed martial arts (MMA), especially in England, Pimblett has yet to be one putting the focus on others following his first two Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) victories.
“December, yeah,” Pimblett told The Underground of when he’d like to fight after UFC London. “As I say, I don’t mention anyone’s name. People talk about me. People have my name in their mouth. Like ‘hand sanitizer boy’ [Ilia Topuria], you know what I mean? All these fools mention me for some clout, some followers. But I don’t need to mention anyone’s name and I never will because people talk about me.”
Pimblett’s created quite a buzz around him rather early in his UFC career and that only continues as he nears No. 3. At UFC London, Pimblett is tasked with Jordan Leavitt, who poses what many believe to be majorly a grappling threat to the Liverpool native.
However, the former Cage Warriors champion wholeheartedly disagrees, predicting a first-round knockout and seeing little to offer from his next opponent.
“I personally think I’m gonna knock him out — in less than two minutes, never mind five,” Pimblett said. “I’ve got a feeling I’m gonna come out and absolutely steamroll ‘em. His striking’s non-existent and everyone underestimates my striking. I’ve done two camps in a row training for the southpaw and because in the last fight I shot in a sloppy takedown very early, a panic shot, to be honest, where I didn’t wake up then he punched me in the face and woke me up and I shot a panic shot. This time that won’t be happening.
“I’ll be coming straight out and I’ll be aggressive and I’m gonna put him right on his toes,” he added. “If anyone’s shootin’, it’s gonna be him but I don’t think he’s gonna get a chance to shoot and if he does, he’s not gonna get me down. I’m wrestling with a much higher caliber of wrestler than he is. He just holds on then tries to get you down. I just don’t see anywhere the fight goes that he can test me. Literally.”
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC London fight card right here, starting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN+) at 3 p.m. ET.
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