Dana White has been critical of the way Jared Gordan (19-6 MMA) approached his fight with Paddy Pimblett (20-3 MMA) in the UFC 282 co-main event.
Jared Gordan went all 15 minutes with Pimblett in a closely contested matchup. Despite it being a back-and-forth exchange, a large proportion of the MMA community believed ‘Flash’ had done enough to win the fight.
Nevertheless, following the announcement of the official judge’s scorecards many fans and fighters were flabbergasted that Paddy Pimblett came out of the fight with a unanimous decision victory.
Bruh?
You lost that fight— Nathan Diaz (@NateDiaz209) December 11, 2022
Dana White believes it was Gordan’s gameplan that cost him the fight
Whilst the UFC President didn’t outwardly express whether Paddy Pimblett deserved to win the fight or not, he did however express that Jared Gordan has only himself to blame for being on the wrong end of a decision.
“Gordon had a horrible gameplan going into that third round,” White told reporters.
“You think he won the first two rounds? With the judges? How do you know that? Why go in there and throw away the third round and not go in there and fight your ass off and try to win. If you think you know who won what round or whatever, you’re crazy. I’ve been doing this for 23 years. I have no f*cking idea what those guys are gonna do or what they’re gonna say.”
During the first two rounds, the fight was mostly a stand-up affair. Whilst entering the third and final round, Gordan mixed up his martial arts utilizing his wrestling to control ‘The Baddy’ in the clinch. As he aimed to close out what he thought would be the biggest win of his career for the majority of the round.
Dana White reiterates that Gordan’s game plan, specifically in the final round cost him the fight, yet is adamant that the ref should share some of the blame.
“He felt like he had the first two rounds and went in and pushed him against the fence,” White exclaimed.
“Horrible gameplan by Gordon, the ref let it happen, and he threw the fight away. He was doing great in that fight. He should have fought the third round.”
Regardless, Paddy Pimblett is now four wins from four in the UFC as he continues his rise at 155lbs.
Although featherweight Ilia Topuria (13-0 MMA) – who has had his differences with Pimblett – has been named as a potential next opponent, UFC boss Dana White isn’t a fan of that idea.
White sees Topuria’s future at featherweight and forecasts him shooting up the rankings, whereas Paddy Pimblett’s days of fighting at 145lbs are over, and will await his next challenge at lightweight.