What is Next for Pimblett After First UFC Defeat?
Everything always comes to an end in the UFC, unless you’re Khabib Nurmagomedov. As far as Paddy Pimblett goes, the English fighter suffered his first career defeat when he faced Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 in Las Vegas. It was a loss, but not a defeat, as Paddy fought a war with Gaethje for the interim title. Today, the Liverpool born fighter is resting, healing his injuries, and thinking about what comes next for him while his recovery is ongoing.
We haven’t heard from Paddy during the post fight interviews as he was taken straight to the hospital after UFC 324. Yet, Dana White spoke on his behalf, praising Pimblett as one of the elite fighters in the division. While Paddy might be focused on getting his health back, White and UFC are already thinking about future plans for Pimblett. For a long time he was the undefeated golden child of the company, but now the aura of invincibility has gone.
Paddy Pimblett needs to get back to the octagon ASAP, but picking an ideal opponent for him is now harder than ever. One UFC sponsor is already focused on other fights, while we wait for Paddy the Baddy to get better, and think:
Who Should Paddy Fight Next?
Paddy Pimblett finds himself in an awkward position. A win against Justin Gaethje would give him an interim belt and a chance to square against Ilia Topuria. Now, that honour belongs to Justin, while Paddy is back at square one. What this means is that he needs at least two more wins to get back to title contention, making the number of his opponents limited. Below you’ll find our top picks, on who should Paddy Pimblett fight next in order to get one step closer to fighting Topuria for the title.
Arman Tsarukyan
While we can’t be sure that Paddy Pimblett wants to fight Arman Tsarukyan, one thing is clear: the Armenian fighter is more than eager to fight the Englishman. He was the first one to pile up the misery on Paddy after his defeat to Gaethje. Arman even went as far as to claim that Dana White and UFC have been gifting Pimblett with fighting opportunities since he joined the company. To a degree, Arman has all the right in the world to be mad at how the lightweight division has been run by White and the UFC. At the end of the day, Tsarukyan is the No1 ranked fighter in the division, and he had to do light sparring and watch Gaethje vs. Pimblett for the interim title. While fans would be eager to see Arman vs. Paddy it remains unclear that the Liverpool man would be up for it. Aram already called up Pimblett, and as a fighter who is on a five fight unbeaten streak, and only one loss in his last 11 outings. Also, as far as lightweight division goes, Arman is more than a solid all round competitor.
We wouldn’t be going out of line by saying that Arman would be favoured to win this duel. That’s why it remains unclear whether Paddy would be eager to accept a duel against Arman as his return bout. In a sense of the word, that would put him quite close to two consecutive defeats, making his chances to get back to title contention rather slim. Yet, after his loss to Justin, he needs to prove that he can go against the division’s elite, and Arman Tsarukyan falls into that description. For both men, getting into that title picture is the goal. Win and you’re in! Lose, and the chances are it will take some time to get back into those conversations.
Dan Hooker
If we told you only a few weeks ago that Dan Hooker vs. Paddy Pimblett is on our bingo card, you’d call us crazy. Yet, here we are. While nowhere near as bombastic as Arman vs. Paddy, there’s quite a lot of sense in pitting Paddy the Baddy vs. Hooker. The two men love to go at each other’s throat. In recent weeks they’ve been firing on all cylinders. You could say that more than a few lines have been crossed during their trash talk. Paddy called out Hooker’s lack of grappling through a metaphor including his mother, while in return, Dan referenced a death of Paddy’s close friend in his response. It was not a pretty ordeal by any means.
By looking at the situation from the outside, it would appear that both men are holding a grudge against each other. Also, they might be laying down the foundation for Paddy’s return duel. Hooker would be a much more favourable matchup for Pimblett compared to Arman. It might be logical to aim for a win in his return rather than an immediate shoot at the title. At the moment, Pimblett is the better ranked fighter despite his most recent defeat, and we can see him taking down Dan Hooker. If this matchup is made, we can see Arman going ballistic as his theory that Paddy has been gifted fights would be legitimized by skipping him and awarding Pimblett a fight with Dan Hooker.
A Possible Homecoming
There is no event scheduled for Liverpool, but considering just how big of a star Pimblett has become in recent years, UFC might make an exception. So far, UFC has traditionally held one event per year in the UK. This year, it is UFC London which is scheduled for 21st of March. Now, that’s a bit too early for Paddy to make a return. Yet, if UFC decides to do so, they could easily slot an event for Liverpool on a later date. Pimblett hasn’t fought in his home town since 2018. Now, that’s a long time not to fight at home for one of UFCs biggest draws. If this idea catches up to the higher ups in the company, a UFC event in Liverpool could be organized even on a short notice. With Paddy Pimblett headlining a Liverpool event, the venue would be sold out, and you can’t get a more natural headliner than Paddy in Liverpool. Considering that this event is only a product of our imagination as of now, we’re not going to make a pick for Paddy’s opponent. For now, a venue, and a main event featuring a Liverpudlian, are enough to envision one of the best homecomings UFC could possibly devise.
The Winner of Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira
UFC has had solid plans for the lightweight division. Yet, when Ilia Topuria decided to go on a hiatus due to personal reasons, changes had to be made. With Ilia out of the picture, the anticipated duel between Paddy Pimblett and Charles Oliveira was scrapped. Pimblett was given a chance to go for the interim title vs. Justin Gaethje, while Charles Oliveira got a go at the BMF belt against Max Holloway. Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira is scheduled for March 7th in Las Vegas, with the BMF title being the main prize.
While fans might see the BMF title as a symbolic one, for those in the octagon it means much more. It is seen as a status symbol among the elite fighters and you can expect that Oliveira and Holloway will be going all in for a chance to grab it. Max is the current title holder, and as we could heard from him in the past, he is more than proud for winning it the last time around, and the fashion in which he did truly proved that he is the baddest motherf*ker out there.
In addition to the BMF title, another thing that makes Holloway vs. Oliveira interesting is the fact that the both seasoned veterans would love to take a go at the lightweight title at least once more in their careers. Holloway and Oliveira are both legends in the UFC, and both have fallen under Topuria’s strikes on the Spaniard’s rise to glory. With their time at the top slowly coming to an end, winning the BMF title, and getting a go at Pimblett would put each of them in title contention in two fight times. Of course, this is easier said than done, but in time this scenario plays out, Topuria will have his fights vs. Gaethje and will probably discuss a super fight in the company and leave the title for other to take it, or he will allow himself a luxury to once again go against the legends such as Holloway and Oliveira, both of whom he has defeated via knockout in the past.
If Max or Charles is the opponent, Pimblett wants to take on next, all he has to do is to sit back, relax, and recover, while Holloway and Oliveira settle it down in Las Vegas in a few weeks time at the UFC 326.
What to Expect From UFC 326 BMF Title Bout?
While Paddy Pimblett rests, even his fans will have their eyes set at the UFC 326 event at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas. As we said, the title is a ceremonial one, but you can bet that Holloway and Oliveira will be at their full strength come fight night as there’s plenty more at stake here. The bout is scheduled for March 7th, and as we speak, both men are wrapping up their training camps.
The fans at Vegas, and those watching at home, will get a chance to see Max Holloway, one of the greatest fighters in the history of UFC featherweight division. He is the former champion, who unified the interim and undisputed title by defeating Jose Aldo in 2017. He then went on one of the greatest UFC runs of all times when he defended his title three times. He lost the title in 2019 with a loss in the hands of Alexander Volkanovski. His resume was impressive even before he got his hands on the BMF title at UFC 300 when he won against Justin Gaethje. The best part is that he defended this title too vs. Dustin Poirier at UFC 318. In between those two fights he lost to Ilia Topuria putting him out of the title conversations.
Just like Holloway, Charles Oliveira is also a former lightweight champion. He grabbed the title in the eve of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s retirement, when he defeated Michael Chandler for the belt at UFC 262. He defended the title once against Dustin Poirier but failed to do it twice after he failed to make weight for UFC 274. Now, he will be facing max Holloway for the BMF belt, which while symbolic, will draw the bets from these two men. After all, Charles Oliveira is one of the most exciting fighters to ever enter the octagon. As far as UFC goes, he holds the record for most finishes in the company with 21. The number of wins by submission at 17 is also a record, and we shouldn’t forget that he received 21 bonuses for Fight, Submission, or Performance of the Night. At the same time, Holloway has received 13 fight of the night bonuses, and his 11 finishes is a record as far as the featherweight division goes. Knowing this is a promise of one of the best fights in recent memory.
While all eyes will most definitely be on Max vs. Charles, you should not miss out on duels such as Renato Moicano vs. Brian Ortega, Caio Borralho vs. Reinier de Ridder, Gregory Rodrigues vs. Brunno Ferreira, Rob Font vs. Raul Rosas Jr., Cody Garbrandt vs. Xiao Long, Cody Durden vs. Nyamjargal Tumendemberel, Donte Johnson vs. Duško Todorovic, Yoo Joo-sang vs. Gaston Bolanos, Luke Fernandez vs. Rodolfo Bellato, and Su Mudaerji vs. Jesús Santos Aguilar.
While we wait for Paddy Pimblett to heal and to schedule his return bout, UFC will not be sleeping. Instead, superb events such as UFC 326 lie ahead of us, with plenty of more fighting on the horizon. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the top MMA product out there, while Paddy gets in shape to make his glorious return.
