There would be no twerking at The O2 on Saturday night after Paddy Pimblett submitted Jordan Leavitt in the second round. There was, however, tea-bagging.
Pimblett dazed the American with a knee while defending a takedown and then took the back, where he secured a rear-naked choke at the 2:46 mark of the second round.
The cups flew and Pimblett jumped into the arms of sponsor Dave Portnoy, just like his teammate Molly McCann earlier in this card. McCann then carted him around the octagon.
An ELECTRIC finish to round 1 for Paddy #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/NiE2IVyOTo
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 23, 2022
Ain’t no party like a Paddy party #UFCLondon pic.twitter.com/zwPBw2DFrt
— UFC (@ufc) July 23, 2022
Despite the wild celebration, Pimblett again expressed disappointment in his performance, telling Michael Bisping, “I’m better than that.” He then paid tribute to a friend who’d committed suicide and implored the audience to monitor their mental health.
It was a rough first round for the Liverpool native. Leavitt didn’t intend to give him an easy knockout so he quickly drove for another leg. Pimblett grabbed his opponent’s neck but was out of position and couldn’t adjust to secure a guillotine. Pimblett was able to avoid Leavitt’s subsequent drive, but he managed to minimize most of his damage. Pimblett used a guillotine to control Leavitt’s charge across the ring in a short amount of time. He then started pounding with punches and took the mount and back.
Pimblett tried to punch his way in midway through the fight, and Leavitt instead ducked under. As he attempted to keep his balance, the Brit tried an arm triangle but it was only when he dropped his knees that the fight changed. With a body triangle, Pimblett trapped Leavitt’s right arm, leaving him unable to defend the choke properly.
It was only a matter time before Pimblett got the back-naked submission. With a squeeze, he picked up his third straight UFC win and set the crowd ablaze with the tea-bag he’d promised for Leavitt, who’d beforehand promised to twerk in victory. Leavitt suffers the second octagon loss of his career and drops to 3-2 after back-to-back wins in his two most recent appearances.
