This past weekend in the co-main event of UFC 282, one of the biggest young stars in the promotion had his fourth fight inside the octagon. England’s Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett (20-3) was making his PPV debut as he was taking on the tough Jared Gordon (19-6).
One thing about this fight is that Gordon wasn’t going to be intimidated by the moment or the fighter. Given all he had gone through in his life and his experience against guys like Charles Oliveira, Gordon was going to push Paddy The Baddy.
In the first two rounds, it was clear that Gordon was going to be a stiff test for Pimblett. Gordon couldn’t miss with his lead left hook and frequently snapped the head of Pimblett. Pimblett was throwing a lot of volume, but Gordon was landing the bigger and cleaner shots.
In the third round, Gordon switched things up and went to a grappling approach. He didn’t do any damage in the final round but he held Pimblett against the fence for most of the round. After the fight was over, most people viewing UFC 282 thought that Pimblett lost the fight. However, when the scores were read, all three judges gave the fight to Paddy The Baddy.
What’s next after UFC 282?
I don’t think Pimblett won the fight on Saturday night and I think that most people agree with that assessment. However, the three people who matter all scored the fight for Pimblett and it goes down in the books as a win for Pimblett.
With this latest win, I’m curious to see how the UFC approaches Pimblett’s next fight. I’m going to assume he will be on the London PPV card in March. So, who will the promotion pair him up with? There are a couple of different options they can go with.
One guy I could see them picking is someone like Matt Frevola. Frevola has won back-to-back fights by first round finish including one over Ottman Azaitar. Someone like Clay Guida could be an option for Pimblett as well. Maybe a Michael Johnson. Mid-Tier lightweights with name recognition should be next for Pimblett.