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UFC lightweight loudmouth Paddy Pimblett escaped the UFC 282 pay-per-view (PPV) event last weekend in Las Vegas by squeaking past fellow 155-pound scrapper Jared Gordon in the “Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev” co-main event. Just don’t expect a controversial outcome to dampen “The Baddy’s” spirits, who celebrated his big night by partying at XS Las Vegas with a guy who wears a giant marshmallow on his head.

Google tells me it’s DJ and music producer “Marshmello” which I probably should have known by now but I’m old and lame and still think Mix Master Ice is the talk of the town (RIP Kangol Kid). The good news, based solely on photos of Pimblett bouncing around the afterparty, is that his foot does not appear to be broken or suffering from ligament damage after injury concerns were raised in his post-fight interview.

“Winners stay Wynning!” the caption said, referencing Wynn properties in Las Vegas. “The Mello Gang came through tonight to celebrate The Baddy at XS Las Vegas and it was UNFORGETTABLE!”

Pretty sure it will be forgotten by the end of the week.

Still no word yet on what’s next for the streaking scouser but the still-annoyed Pimblett is likely to resurface at the upcoming UFC card next March in London. It will be interesting to see how the promotion matches him up after watching him struggle against Gordon at UFC 282 but sooner or later “The Baddy” will have to battle a Top 10 opponent in order to keep the hype train barreling down the proverbial tracks.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Pena shocked the world with her second-round submission win over Amanda Nunes in the UFC 269 pay-per-view (PPV) main event back in late 2021, but then failed to retain her title when the promotion granted an immediate rematch in the UFC 277 headliner last July.

So with the score tied one apiece, and neither fighter securing a bantamweight booking for early 2023, “The Venezuelan Vixen” is hoping the promotion will rubber stamp a third go-round for the 135-pound title. If Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno can get four UFC title fights, then surely Pena and Nunes can get three.

“The champ Amanda doesn’t have a fight, and former champ soon to be and new champ does not have a fight, so I feel like that’s the only fight to make,” Pena told MMA Junkie. “That’s the only fight that makes sense for me, and that’s the only fight I see in my future. For me, there could be no other answer. They’re making Deiveson Figuieredo vs. Brandon Moreno 4 for Pete’s sake. I finished her the first time, I ran out of time the second time, and I allowed her that opportunity to make those adjustments and to go back and change those things in that camp in the rematch. I absolutely feel like the kosher thing to do would be to allow me to make the same adjustments.”

Pena, 33, dropped to 11-5 with her recent loss to Nunes but managed to maintain her No. 1 spot in the women’s bantamweight rankings. That said, “Lioness” also holds the 145-pound title, so it’s not yet known which direction the promotion plans to go in terms of matchmaking. Hopefully we can get some answers within the next few weeks.

Hand surgery could force Kamaru Usman out of his proposed trilogy with Leon Edwards.

According to Stephen Thompson, Kamaru Usman could be out of his proposed rematch with Leon Edwards due to a hand injury.

‘Wonderboy’ claims the trilogy is in jeopardy because ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ requires hand surgery and won’t be ready to fight ‘Rocky’ in March, which is when the UFC was targeting the rematch.

During a recent interview with Fred Talks Fighting (h/t BJPenn.com), Thompson revealed that the UFC is looking at Jorge Masvidal as a replacement, with the promotion targeting a striker vs. striker matchup in Usman’s potential absence.

“I’m still going for the title,” Thompson said. “I know the guys ranked above me right now are some heavy wrestlers but everybody wants to see me fight a stand-up fight. Which, I don’t mind at all. Any of those guys, Jorge Masvidal, Michel Pereira.”

“People are in-talks of me fighting Leon Edwards,” he added. “I know Kamaru Usman is having hand surgery, I know they want to fight somebody in March and they were looking at Jorge Masvidal. He’s a standup fighter, so it kind of inspires me a bit, our division is so wrestler-heavy, and Leon Edwards is a striker and he’s champ. So, anyone of those guys would be awesome.”

Edwards makes it no secret that he wants revenge on Masvidal over their backstage altercation in 2019 when Jorge blasted him with a ‘three-piece-and-a-soda’ at The O2 Arena in London, England. Edwards is expected to return to The O2 in March 2023 for his first welterweight title defense. He won the championship with a sensational last-minute KO of then-welterweight titleholder Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. The win saw him catapult to #3 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings and cement his position as one of the best fighters on the planet.