Logan Paul isn’t committed to taking an MMA fight just yet, but if he does, he knows who he’d like it to be against.
Paul is a well-known figure within combat sports circles for his efforts into boxing. He was featured in an exhibition against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2012 and took part in Wrestlemania this weekend. Recently though, Paul has teased that he may try his hand at MMA, and both UFC President Dana White and Bellator CEO Scott Coker have shown some interest in giving the YouTuber/podcaster a shot. White appeared on Paul’s podcast in March and was open to giving Paul a chance. And now Paul has a name in mind for if it does happen: Paddy Pimblett.
” I’d love to have a go at it. I’d like a win in some sort of a fighting, combat sport,” Paul told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. It’s something I think I could do. But then again, bro, I’m like, okay, do I f****** go and get my head kicked in or wrestle and have so much more fun. They were like “Hey, good Luck!” before I went to Wrestlemania. And then, when they got backstage, I was like “Enjoy the show!”. Before boxing matches, it’s like: “I love you brother.” You can do anything you want.’ They’re praying for me backstage, my heart’s pounding. It is a f ****** nightmare! The difference in a UFC match and one that is boxing-related is amazing. However, I discovered who I would like to face if there was a UFC fight: Paddy the Baddy .”
Pimblett is one of the rising stars in the UFC at the moment. The 27-year old Liverpudlian made his UFC debut this past fall, stopping Luigi Vendramini in the first round and securing a Performance of the Night bonus. Pimblett then followed that up with a first-round submission of Rodrigo Vargas at UFC London, taking home another Performance of the Night bonus and stirring the British fans at the O2 Arena into a frenzy. Given the amount of hype he currently has, Paul thinks Pimblett would be a good match up.
” They’re claiming he could be the next Conor McGregor. Paul agreed. “He’s super charismatic, he’s entertaining as hell, he’s on the come up, he’s young like me, he’s got a real loud mouth. I just like the way he can perform. He can also be 25 a lot in the off-season. The kid blows up in the off season, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like someone put a pump in him and [blows him up]. So he can get up to 185 and I can get down to 185 and possibly do a UFC match.”
Paul made it clear that he has no personal issue with Pimblett, and that he would even like to have “The Baddy” on his podcast in the future. Paul simply believes that, given his own level of star power, Pimblett would present the most bang for his buck.
“[Dana White] asked me who I’d want to fight and I didn’t have anyone in mind, and now I’m looking at it and I’m like, okay, if I were to do a UFC fight, it needs to be with someone who can sell tickets,” Paul said. “Paddy can sell, we’ve seen how he can activate crowds, and he’s still relatively new, he’s young, he’s entertaining.
