Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) recently booked the lightweight showdown between up-and-coming division sensation Paddy Pimblett and former 155-pound interim titleholder Tony Ferguson for the UFC 296 pay-per-view (PPV) event, recently made official for Sat., Dec. 16, 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Reactions on social media were mixed, with some fans lambasting the promotion for what could be perceived as irresponsible matchmaking. Pimblett is the winner of six straight with five finishes while the skidding Ferguson, 11 years older than “The Baddy” at 39, has dropped six in a row, getting stopped in four of those six losses.
Former UFC middleweight titleholder and current UFC color commentator, Michael Bisping, suggests the social media sh*t talkers are rushing to discount “El Cucuy” without giving The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 13 champ the respect he deserves.
“A lot of people on social media are talking sh*t about this fight, and I don’t understand that,” Bisping said on YouTube. “Paddy ‘The Baddy’ has gotta come back. You’ve gotta give him a credible opponent. Tony Ferguson’s a wild motherf*cker. It’s as simple as that. He’s a fighter, man. He will fight to the nail. You literally have to finish Tony Ferguson to get him to stop coming forward. There is no quit in that man.”
Pimblett (20-3) captured a controversial decision win over lightweight veteran Jared Gordon as part of the UFC 282 card last December, then missed most of 2023 dealing with ankle surgery. As for Ferguson (25-9), he’s looking to rebound from his submission loss to Bobby Green at UFC 291 last July, a performance that led to (unsuccessful) calls for his retirement from combat sports.
“At 39 years old, yeah, of course he’s taken a lot of damage. But he also has a lot of experience,” Bisping continued. “And against Bobby Green, he was doing okay… Tony Ferguson is still a dangerous man, make no mistake about that. And it’s a really, really tough spot for Paddy Pimblett. It’s a lose-lose. Already there’s people out there talking sh*t, saying, ‘They’ve just given Paddy somebody easy.’ Tony Ferguson is not an easy fight for anyone.”
Well find out in less than three months.