Paddy Pimblett’s controversial decision win over Jared Gordon last month at UFC 282 has sparked much discussion among the mixed martial arts (MMA) community. This now includes Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) color commentator, Joe Rogan, and Barstool Sports president, Dave Portnoy.
Rogan, who was in attendance to call Pimblett’s fight with Gordon at UFC 282, has voiced his belief that Gordon won the fight despite the judges’ scoring. As a matter of fact, Rogan was seen rolling his eyes inside of the Octagon when the scorecard was read and Pimblett was awarded the victory.
Earlier this week, Portnoy made his first appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. As the founder of Barstool Sports — which signed Pimblett to a lucrative brand ambassador deal back in 2021 — Portnoy is always going to be a little bias with his outlook on the fight. He believes “Baddy” did enough during the fight to capture the win. Of course, Portnoy is in the minority regarding his views on the contest and Rogan didn’t let him off the hook.
Joe Rogan on Paddy’s controversial fight vs Jared Gordon pic.twitter.com/d9AROAaeZO
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) January 5, 2023
“I got to walk in with Paddy in London when the crowd was chanting his name,” said Portnoy. “That is still maybe the best thing I’ve gotten to do. I can’t imagine being a fighter in the tunnel coming out, there really is nothing like it in sports. By the way, I saw you roll your eyes when Paddy won [at UFC 282].”
“He shouldn’t have won.” Rogan replied.
“I thought it was a close decision,” said Portnoy.
Eventually, Rogan gave some credit to Pimblett, but still stands firm on his belief that Gordan clearly won the fight.
“Eh, I thought Jared won. I thought Jared Gordon won that fight. It was a good fight, it certainly wasn’t a blowout. It wasn’t one of those fights where there was no f—king way [Pimblett didn’t win], it was a close fight.”
Regardless of Rogan or Portnoy’s views on the fight, Pimblett did walk away with the win at UFC 282 to push his perfect UFC record to 4-0 and set himself up for a bigger opportunity in 2023. However, Gordon certainly exposed some holes in Pimblett’s game which has left fight fans wondering how long “Baddy” can keep this up.