The rise of Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett

By
Chris Trevelyan
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Paddy Pimblett flying triangle on Conrad Hayes

It was almost immediately in the writing of this title that I felt using ‘rise’ to describe Pimblett’s recent performances is a huge understatement. The reason is because ‘The Baddy’ isn’t rising. He has risen.

This fighter, hailing from Liverpool, is a world champion in the world’s toughest sport, which puts him in the history books forever, but everyone knows another journey has just begun.
As is in MMA, signing for and fighting within the UFC is the unofficial nod from the martial arts community that you have truly made it.

Paddy recently spoke on The MMA Hour about the phenomenal atmosphere during his fight at The Echo Arena in Liverpool, the frustration of being compared to Conor McGregor and his soon to be announced breaking news.

Paddy Pimblett flying triangle on Conrad Hayes
Unorthodox Pimblett performs a flying triangle on Conrad Hayes at Cage Warriors 68

If we speak hypothetically for a moment and assume this news could be that Paddy has signed to fight within the UFC then lets give a quick run down of what is sure to be a truly unique addition to an exciting featherweight division.

Name: Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett

Born: Liverpool, England

MMA record: 12-1-0

Weight class: Featherweight

Title(s): Current Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion

Win streak: 8 wins

Last fight: A devastating knockout victory in the first round against Johnny Frachey (knee to head followed by ground and pound, video below)

Potential UFC match ups

The video above of Paddy’s knockout victory at Cage Warriors 78 shows most aptly that Paddy is no prospect, no newbie, and no pushover. This is a legitimate featherweight contender and I believe he will be considered as such by Dana White before even stepping foot in the Octagon.

It makes no sense for anyone to see Paddy fight a string of low level opponents upon entry to the UFC. That being said, Paddy does need that one first important bout to put on a showcase of his skills to his new UFC crowd and so naturally he will be matched with someone with a similar fighting style to his own.

But then, who is next? Let’s take a look at what would be some exciting first fights for ‘The Baddy’:

Arnold Allen – Fellow English featherweight Allen has an 11-1 record and 2-0 record in the UFC. He is a former Cage Warriors fighter and a match up with Paddy could be labelled as an English civil war with two young fighters who are fans of stoppages facing off.

Diego ‘Pitbull’ Rivas – A featherweight who originates from Chile and holds a perfect record of 7-0-0. Diego has a 2-0 record in the UFC, winning his last fight by KO via flying knee, the same move by which Paddy won his last bout over Frachey.

Chris Avila – The Stockton fighter is part of Nate Diaz’s 209 team and it can be agreed that he did little to impress on his UFC debut, losing to Artem Lobov via decision at UFC 202. One thing that can be given to Avila is that he stood and took some heavy shots, looking tough and surely looking to put on a better show, perhaps against ‘The Baddy’?

Cole Miller – Miller is currently going through a poor run of form, losing his last bout to Alex Caceres, setting his record at 21-10. If Paddy was to capitalize on this poor form then adding Cole Miller to your CV as first UFC win would certainly be impressive.

Chris Trevelyan
22 year old student based in Bradford, England. Keen MMA fan with a particular interest in UFC and the Flyweight-Welterweight divisions. Background in Thai Boxing and contacts in Leeds for MMA events.
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