Paddy Pimblett has a strong idea of who he’ll be up against next.
Liverpool, England’s “Baddy” earned the most notable victory of his career in his last time out at UFC 296 in December 2023. Tasked with one-time interim Lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson, Pimblett got past “El Cucuy” when he won a unanimous decision that extended his winning streak to seven (5-0 in UFC, 21-3 overall).
Pimblett, 29, has accrued plenty of hype and popularity throughout his UFC rise and garnered attention from his fellow Lightweights. A few, in particular, have expressed their interest in a fight after wins at UFC 300 earlier this month (April 13, 2024). Bobby Green and Renato “Moicano” Carneiro defeated Jim Miller and Jalin Turner, respectively, at the historic event, calling for Pimblett next. Unfortunately for Green, there’s not as much interest from Pimblett as there is for their Brazilian counterpart.
“As you know, UFC 300, everybody wants a slice of ‘The Baddy,’” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel (h/t MMA Fighting). “Bobby Green screamed my name on the mic after it. Didn’t surprise me, know what I mean? He might be ranked, but he’s got no followers and he needs me. Just like everyone else, they want to fight me because they know I’m the boy. Bobby Green’s an option. If Bobby Green wants to fight, I’m there.
“I’d rather fight my boy, Moicano,” he continued. “Where you at, Renato? I don’t even dislike Renato Moicano. I actually like him. He’s a funny guy. He’s a cool dude. So me and him having a fight would be hilarious. The build up to that fight would be very, very funny. I think it’d be even funnier if me and him done a season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
“That’d be six, seven, eight weeks of pure comedy for the fans,” Pimblett concluded. “So I would — I’d love that, to be honest. And I’d rather go right in at rank 10 rather than beating rank 15.”
A Pimblett return bout should be expected sooner rather than later now that UFC is set to return to Manchester, England for UFC 304 on July 27, 2024. As fun as the TUF idea is from the Scouser, the next season has already been occupied by Flyweight rivals, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko.