Paddy Pimblett had pizza in his hand, Dana White in front of him, and somehow still found time to jokingly pitch himself for Max Holloway after UFC 329 went sideways.
Pimblett had already done his own work in Las Vegas, submitting Benoit Saint Denis in 52 seconds. Holloway then beat Conor McGregor by injury TKO at 3:54 of Round 1, leaving the main event winner with almost no real fight time and the lightweight room suddenly full of strange possibilities.
That is where Pimblett started having fun backstage. White praised the finish first, then Pimblett threw out the Holloway idea while standing next to Hunter Campbell.
“F*cking absolutely incredible, man.” White said.
“Do you want me to get in with Max now? I’ll get in with Max now if you want?” Pimblett said.
“You and I will figure out that.” Campbell said.
“You’re not 100%. So, don’t eat too much pizza.” White said.
The Championship Rounds clip of Pimblett, White, and Campbell is below.
Paddy Pimblett spoke with Dana White and Hunter Campbell after his win at UFC 329 👀
🗣️ Dana: “F*cking absolutely incredible, man.”
🗣️ Paddy: “I’ll get in with Max [Holloway] now.”
🗣️ Hunter: “You and I will figure out that.”
🗣️ Dana: “So don’t eat too much pizza.” 😭
(via… pic.twitter.com/Vw4Cs6nfXu
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 14, 2026
Holloway Gives Pimblett His Respect Backstage
The exchange did not turn into an actual short-notice circus, but it did make the post-fight footage feel like a weird little snapshot of the UFC 329 lightweight picture. Pimblett had just rebounded from his first UFC loss, and White had already said Pimblett looked like he felt like the world champion after the submission.
Happy Punch also posted the Instagram version of the backstage moment, showing how fast the clip moved around social media.
Later in Pimblett’s vlog, Holloway crossed paths with him backstage and gave him credit for the Saint Denis finish.
“Congrats, brother. That was f—— sick, bro. That was sick.” Holloway said.
Pimblett closed the night with the same confidence he carried into the cage.
“We came, we saw, we conquered. I told you what I was going to do and we done it.” Pimblett said.
The full video from Paddy The Baddy’s YouTube channel is below.
Pimblett framed himself as a possible new UFC face after McGregor’s injury, while Holloway’s win over McGregor ended before a full round was complete. Daniel Cormier also questioned whether Holloway would feel satisfied with the result, noting the awkward ending in his UFC 329 reaction.
The backstage clips tied the night together: Holloway walked away from a strange main event, and Pimblett left with a quick win that kept his name close to the biggest lightweight conversations.
