Paddy Pimblett has his path to lightweight gold already mapped out.
With a 5-0 record inside the Octagon, ‘The Baddy’ is ready to step up in competition. He’ll get exactly that on Saturday, July 27 when he returns for a highly anticipated scrap with Bobby Green at UFC 304 in Manchester. With Green occupying the No. 15 spot in the lightweight rankings, Pimblett believes this will be a solid first step towards his dream of one day becoming a UFC champion.
Speaking with New York Post Sports, Pimblett laid out the very specific route he has in mind that could eventually land him on the lightweight throne.
“Well, obviously the fight with Bobby Green, then I fight [Renato] Moicano. Moicano’s ranked number 10 at the minute but he’s fighting Saint-Denis so he could win or lose, he could end up going up or down.
“But I’d love [to face] Moicano and then [fighting] Dariush would be perfect, he’s like rank seven or eight… I’d love to have a scrap with him because he’s another one of them who, he’s a very good grappler, but he’ll come out and have it [out] on the feet, his fight with Drakkar Klose, brilliant scrap.”
“[After Dariush] and then someone in the top five, and then go for the belt [then] if possible.”
By the time Pimblett works his way toward a title fight, things could look drastically different in the division. In a separate interview with TMZ Sports, ‘The Baddy’ suggested that some of the biggest names at 155 will likely be gone by then, but there is one man he plans to keep an eye on.
“By the time I reach the top 5, half of them are going to be retired; Poirier’s already talking about retirement, Gaethje already said he’d only have a couple more fights, Islam’s already said that he’ll only have a couple more title defenses.
“The only person in the top 5 who’s still going to be around is Arman [Tsarukyan] so he’s the main person who I’ve got to worry about.”
Paddy Pimblett Plans to Re-Sign with the UFC
When Pimblett steps inside the Octagon later this month, it will be the last fight on his contract—but don’t fret. The Liverpudlian has no intention of going anywhere, no matter what the headlines may be saying.
“I want to be in the UFC, the pinnacle of the sport,” he said.
“No other MMA promotion comes near it. I said something in an interview the other day, and they put it out of context and put a post up like I wanted to leave the UFC. It’s crazy how people don’t actually listen to the interview and just jump on that one little thing that’s being posted.”
Even with a loss, it would be hard to imagine the UFC getting out of ‘The Baddy’ business anytime soon considering his immense popularity in the UK and his strong social media following.
Watch Pimblett’s full interview with TMZ below:
