So every once in awhile a true star will emerge in the sport of mixed martial arts. Randy Couture was a massive star back in the day, as was Chuck Liddell, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Mauricio Shogun Rua, all the way to Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva. But the emergence of Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor changed things in such a manner that no one could have anticipated the backlash. UFC fighters getting paid millions to fight?! Never would that ever happen. Yet here we are in this new day and age where demanding millions is completely common place. But you won’t see that kind of money floating around in the prelims. Only the stars are set to make those major purses. Now that Conor McGregor has opened up the European market like never before there seems to be another fighter attempting to follow in his footsteps. Paddy Pimblett. But is this young fighter truly good enough to carry the torch?
First off, I’m not the biggest fan of hating on fighters nor is it the intention here. But from what Paddy Pimblett has shown so far, I’m going to need a bit more convincing. He certainly has all the tools tok make himself a successful UFC fighter, one that could one day be a true star. The question is has he faced the kind of opposition he needs to in order to stake the claim as the next best thing coming out of Europe?
The answer is a bit more complicated than a yes or no.
Paddy Pimblett comes from the era where fighters no longer learn just one discipline, they instead learn several right out of the gate. That means he’s a well rounded youth with a ton of upside and more space to fill up on his hard drive. At 21 years of age he’s already built up an impressive record of 12-1 and has shown a willingness to strike, wrestle, or grapple depending on where the fight takes him.
But could he do that to Max Holloway? Could he put Frankie Edgar on his back? Can he out strike Jose Aldo?
These are the kind of questions that need to be asked and answered in order to give the Paddy Pimblett hype train some steam. Don’t get it twisted, this kid certainly has a great deal of talent. But until he’s competing at a high level it’s hard to tell just how dangerous he truly is. Until that day, watching some highlights of the young UK fighter will have to do until we see Paddy at the UFC level.
What’s your thoughts on Paddy Pimblett?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
The post Does Paddy Pimblett Deserve All The Hype? appeared first on Cagepotato.