Paddy Pimblett wasn’t the happiest with his most recent performance, but he still had quite a good time.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to London, England for the second time in 2022 this past month (July 23) and each show saw the spotlight stolen by “The Baddy.” First earning a round one rear-naked choke submission win against Rodrigo Vargas (watch highlights), Pimblett followed it up with another at this most recent event, taking on Jordan Leavitt (watch highlights).
However, it didn’t come without some early struggles in the opening frame, where Pimblett predicted he’d knock out “The Monkey King.”
“That’s just how I am sometimes,” Pimblett told The Pat McAfee Show (h/t MMA Fighting). “I was disappointed in my performance, I felt like I should have went out there and blasted him out in a round. I know I still finished him, finished someone that’s never been finished before. He’s had 11 pro fights, lost one, and never been finished and I choked his ass. He got dealt with like I knew he was going to get dealt with. I said the whole time he’s going to get finished, I thought it was going to be a knockout but he defends punches well, it’s quite weird. He doesn’t like to defend them in a skillful way, but he defends them well and then he just grabs a hold of you.
“But I think I won the first round on all judges’ scorecards and then got the finish in the second, so I’m not too fussed,” he added. “Obviously, when I look back now I realize I was being very emotional going into the fight. I watched it back today and every punch I throw I’m trying to take his head off. I didn’t throw a punch where I’m trying to set a shot up, I’m just walking forward throwing punches.”
Known to blow up in between his fights, Pimblett has openly embraced his physique and has managed to make it work thus far in his UFC run. For his next time out, the 27-year-old former Cage Warriors titlist isn’t so sure exactly who he’ll face in the deep Lightweight talent pool, but he doesn’t want it to be in New York.
Ultimately, Pimblett just admits he really does fancy himself a good face-punching.
“Come on,” Pimblett said. “That tax man just taking all my dough. That’s not happening, the tax man’s not getting my money in New York.
“I can fight like that every time,” he continued mentioning the Leavitt win. “I’m a big, fat bastard at the minute, but if someone rang me now and said, ‘Get outside for a straightener,’ I’d be out there beating them up. I enjoy getting punched and punching people in the face. It sounds very weird, but I enjoy it.”