The ‘Baddy’ seems very likely to miss out on the UFC’s return to London.
Paddy Pimblett is undergoing surgery.
Following his unanimous decision win over Jared Gordon at UFC 282 this past December, Pimblett revealed he suffered a few injuries. The ‘Baddy’ needed an MRI on his right ankle, which was injured after throwing a kick early.
Depending on the results of the MRI, Pimblett said he would try and get a fight in before his wedding in May, which could have seen him return for UFC 286 in March. But that is no longer an option for Pimblett, who revealed on a recent vlog that he would have surgery on his right ankle instead.
“Looks like you have got a small amount of cartilage lost in this bit, and that’s exactly where you’re sore,” a doctor told Pimblett. “The other thing you got is all this white stuff around here. That’s all fluid, so that’s what the swelling is. Now when we look at your ligaments that joins from your fibula, which is this bone, you probably got what we call a Grade 2 injury to that.”
A timeline for a return was not provided.
After a successful UFC debut, Pimblett competed at back-to-back London events in 2022. The former Cage Warriors champion submitted Rodrigo Vargas and Jordan Leavitt at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall and UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Aspinall, respectively.
About the author: Kristen King is a writer for Bloody Elbow. She has covered combat sports since 2016. (full bio)