Paddy Pimblett believes his upcoming fight against Tony Ferguson is “a lose-lose situation.”
On December 18, Pimblett looks to extend UFC record to 5-0 inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. To do so, ‘The Baddy’ must secure a win against former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, who is riding a six-fight losing streak against top-tier opposition.
On paper, Pimblett is taking a step up in competition from his first four Octagon appearances. With that said, Ferguson’s disappointing run has led some of the MMA community to believe ‘The Baddy’ will easily emerge victorious at UFC 296.
During an interview with Marc Raimondi of ESPN MMA, Paddy Pimblett was asked about his fight with Tony Ferguson potentially being a lose-lose situation. Pimblett responded by saying:
“This is a lose-lose situation for me because when I beat him, people are gonna be like, ‘Oh, Tony was finished anyway. He needed to retire anyway.’ If the unthinkable comes and I do lose, then it’ll be like, ‘Oh, Paddy been beat by a finished Tony Ferguson.’ It’s one of them, it is a lose-lose situation.”
Paddy Pimblett continued by explaining why he accepted the fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 296:
“At the same time, I’ve told you before, and I’ll say it again, I’ve never turned down a fight. Whatever fight gets offered to me, I take. I got offered Tony Ferguson, so I signed on the dotted line.”
Paddy Pimblett doesn’t plan to overlook Tony Ferguson
Tony Ferguson’s six-fight losing streak has featured flashes of prime ‘El Cucuy.’ As a result, Paddy Pimblett doesn’t plan to overlook the former UFC interim lightweight champion. Pimblett had this to say during the previously mentioned interview with Marc Raimondi:
“Yeah, he’s a very dangerous guy. He can finish anyone. I said this to someone else today, even in the fights that he lost on the six-fight losing streak, he nearly finished Justin Gaethje in the second round, nearly finished Michael Chandler in the first round, he dropped Bobby Green in the first round. It’s not as if all of these fights he’s been absolutely dominated.
Paddy Pimblett first fought under the UFC banner in September 2021. The Liverpool native quickly became a massive superstar with three consecutive finishes. He last fought in December 2022 when he won a controversial unanimous decision against Jared Gordon.
Watch Paddy Pimblett’s interview with ESPN MMA below:
