After being ‘dog walked’ by Justin Gaethje for five rounds at UFC 324, Paddy Pimblett believes “The Highlight” might beat Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 and prove the masses and the oddsmakers wrong.
Gaethje and Topuria will meet in a lightweight title unification bout at the South Lawn of the White House on June 14, and, in the MMA community, many already think “The Highlight” will be sent to the shadow realm by “El Matador” and the American will fail to claim the undisputed 155-pound championship; hence, this bout is a waste of time.
Paddy Pimblett has a “sneaky suspicion” that Justin Gaethje might end up dethroning Ilia Topuria
“The Baddy,” who was dismantled by Justin Gaethje earlier this year at UFC 324, believes the current and two-time interim lightweight titleholder cannot be counted out. In a recent YouTube video on his channel, he said:
Everyone’s already counting Justin Gaethje out, and we have already learned we can’t do that. I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that Gaethje might pull off an upset and surprise everyone… In the White House, he’s probably going to have a little bit more motivation to go out there and win.”
Check out Paddy Pimblett’s comments about Justin Gaethje below:
The Brit also added that he hopes to find out in the next 2 weeks who he will lock horns with next.
After sharing the octagon with Justin Gaethje, Pimblett knows exactly what a seasoned veteran like “The Highlight” can do against Ilia Topuria. However, Gaethje cannot afford to make the same mistakes he made against “The Baddy” and trade in the pocket with “El Matador.”
Instead, he should focus on using leg kicks, frustrate the champ, force Topuria to step forward, then catch him at the right moment with perfectly timed combinations.
Maintaining a consistent output rather than chasing a fight-ending blow would be the perfect game plan for the 37-year-old.
Paddy Pimblett is game to fight Charles Oliveira
This past weekend, Charles Oliveira dethroned Max Holloway to become the newly minted UFC BMF kingpin. Oliveira is now riding a two-fight win streak and has firmly put himself back in the mix for a lightweight title shot.
Despite delivering another grappling masterclass against Holloway that largely neutralized the latter’s striking, Pimblett believes he is the better submission artist and that Oliveira’s grappling isn’t level above his own. Showing interest in a potential fight with “Do Bronxs,” he said:
I would love to fight Charles tho. Everyone goes on about his grappling. Everyone thinks it’s levels above mine, and I know it isn’t. If I fought Charles, we probably would end up having a war on the feet.”
Check out Paddy Pimblett’s comments below:
