Paddy Pimblett doesn’t care if Justin Gaethje has a staph infection.
Officially kicking off the UFC’s Paramount+ era, Pimblett will headline the year’s first fight card when he meets Gaethje for the interim lightweight championship this Saturday, January 24.
Weeks ahead of their highly anticipated clash, rumors started circulating that Gaethje could be dealing with a staph infection after an image appeared to show him with a mark on his neck and lip.
Taking to his X account, Gaethje attempted to squash the speculation, claiming that the blemish was “ingrown hair on my neck and brisket hanging out of my mouth.” But despite the revelation, fans have remained skeptical.
As for Pimblett, ‘The Baddy’ doesn’t care what affliction Gaethje may or may not be dealing with. Regardless, it won’t stop him from making a highlight out of ‘The Highlight.’
“Yeah, I’ve seen the rumors of him having staph. It’s one of them — what are we meant to do? If he’s got staph, lad, he’s got staph. It doesn’t matter if he’s got staph or not, I’m still going to smash his head in,” Pimblett said during his UFC 324 media day interview. “But this lad moves forward with staph and knocks people out in the first round, so it doesn’t affect him that bad.
“That’ll be another excuse for everyone when I win — ‘Oh, Justin Gaethje had staph as well.’ So it’s one of them. I get on with it. I’m going to be turning up in the cage, and all’s that matters is if I turn up, nobody beats me.”
Paddy Pimblett Favored to Beat Gaethje at UFC 324
Pimblett goes into his first UFC title opportunity as a -230 favorite, while Gaethje is trending on sportsbooks as a +170 underdog.
‘The Baddy’ is 7-0 since signing with the UFC, including wins over Tony Ferguson, Bobby ‘King’ Green, and former Bellator titleholder Michael Chandler. Meanwhile, Gaethje is coming off a pair of decisive wins over Rafael Fiziev.
In between his meetings with ‘Ataman,’ Gaethje added another highlight-reel knockout to his resume, putting away Dustin Poirier with an epic head kick in the second round of their UFC 291 clash.
