Paddy Pimblett has revealed that he won’t be fighting again until much later in the year as he prepares to undergo ankle surgery in a few days time.
The 28-year-old Pimblett had previously revealed back in January that he’d injured his ankle during a controversial unanimous decision win over Jared Gordon in December, but it seems he’s been in no particular rush to get surgery so that he can get back to competing again.
“I haven’t had surgery yet,” Pimblett told MMA Junkie almost three months after his fight with Gordon. “I couldn’t get booked in to the surgery until after I got back from here (in California), so as soon as I get home, I land on (March) 6th and get surgery on the 7th. I’ll be in a boot for a few weeks, but then I’m just looking forward to the back end of the year, and I’ll be able to fight, I think, back fighting at the end of the year.
“I think it was a little bit of wear and tear on it already (before the fight with Gordon). When they looked at it properly they said on the scan there was a bit of cartilage floating about that they need to take out, and I need a ligament reconstruction. So it’s going to be like keyhole surgery. I’ve got to have a boot for four weeks, that’s what I know.”
Pimblett is currently 4-0 in the UFC so far, but some observers were left less than impressed with his performance against Gordon last time out, with many believing that his opponent should have won, despite being the underdog heading into the bout.
The UK fighter remains a star in the UFC at this time though and as such it has led to people wondering who he might go up against next. Drew Dober recently claimed that he was being lined up to fight him in May, a rumor Pimblett has shot down due to his upcoming surgery.
And ‘The Baddy’ is continuing to stay tight-lipped about who he’d be interested in facing when he does eventually return to action.
“It’s too far away to say, ‘I’ll fight him or I’ll fight him,’” Pimblett said. “Because people are going to fight each other and win and lose in the amount of time it takes me to come back. I don’t know who I’m going to go fight.”
