Paddy Pimblett is already one of the most talked-about fighters on the entire UFC roster, but he’s sick and tired of people treating him as more hype than reality.
Despite a perfect 3-0 record with three straight finishes, the 27-year-old lightweight from Liverpool, England, still doesn’t believe he’s being viewed as a genuine threat the best fighters in the world. He wants to prove that this is a falsehood and it all starts at UFC 282..
“They’re not [taking me serious],” Pimblett said during UFC 282 media day. “It’s cheeky. People still aren’t taking me for real. It is frustrating that no one values me. However, I have to move on. People just don’t respect the come up. It’s as simple as that.
” This is my breakthrough performance. People are going to see the improvements that I’ve made over the last 15 months since I signed with the UFC. .”
will be on display.
Perhaps the biggest criticisms aimed at Pimblett has been the attention he’s received and facing what some consider lackluster competition through his first three fights with the UFC.
His opponents have a combined 5-8 record in the promotion, and two of those fighters — Luigi Vendramini and Kazula Vargas — were both released from the UFC after losing to Pimblett.
Pimblett doesn’t have to take all that on his shoulders but he does praise the UFC fighters he has faced so far. His fight against Gordon will be a tougher challenge for him on Saturday.
“Every one of my past opponents, people will be like, ‘He’s not good, he’s not good,'” Pimblett said. “I personally think my best opponent was my debut, Luigi Vendramini. He gets a bad rap. The only fights that he lost, he lost a majority decision to Fares Ziam. His debut bout at welterweight was lost, then I defeated him, but that’s just me. People say because he got cut. Yeah, [Kazula] Vargas wasn’t the best, he wasn’t.
“Jordan Leavitt’s very good. No one had ever finished him. Everyone was talking about Claudio Puelles. Claudio Puelles is f ****** and a s*** too. He couldn’t finish him but everyone was saying he would beat me and I went and finished Leavitt on one of my worst nights. When I teamed up with a lot of s*** going on behind the scenes, and I still finished him in the second round. I’m disappointed in that performance just like I was with the Vargas one. Since my debut, I haven’t put in a great performance .”
.
With a chance at shining under the spotlight as co-main event in the UFC’s last pay-per view in 2022, Pimblett, he is certain to draw a lot more attention with his performance.
If he’s able to dispatch Gordon in impressive fashion, “The Baddy” will likely find himself headlining cards sooner rather than later because his star power is already undeniable.
Pimblett says that none of this surprises him. He believes Gordon will discover the same truth once they are in the cage together.
“I always saw this in my future and knew what was coming,” Pimblett said. “I always said I’m going to be the biggest star in this sport and none of it takes me by surprise.
“I’m fighting in America, and I know full well, Jared’s going to get booed. I’m going to get cheered. It’s true. It just is. It’s going to be mad for him, because he might think he might get a good cheer, and when he’s standing in that cage and everyone’s singing, ‘Oh Paddy the Baddy,’ his ass is going to fall out of him.”
If you need further proof of Pimblett’s star power, look no further than a recent interaction he had with a neighbor when his dog used the bathroom on her lawn and he rang the doorbell to apologize while offering to clean up the mess. The video from his neighbor’s Ring camera went viral with more than 6. 7 Million views so far.
“I’ve been asked more about that than my fight over the past week,” Pimblett said. “Not messing. I’ve been asked more about that sloppy s*** than I have about Jared Gordon. I don’t even take a piss.
“Before I got home, I got home like 30 minutes after that happened, and I’ve been sent that on Whats App three times before I got home and then all night I just got sent it. It was there on SportsCenter the next day when I woke up. It’s like what the f*** is going on here?”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/7/23499016/paddy-pimblett-people-still-arent-taking-me-for-real-no-one-respects-me-and-it-does-piss-me-off?rand=96749
