English star Paddy Pimblett received criticism from former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman after the scouser claimed he “would’ve put up a better fighter” against 155-pound king Islam Makhachev than Charles Oliveira.
Pimblett made the comment during the UFC 282 media day last week. And that, coupled with him saying that his fight with Jared Gordon at UFC 282 “wasn’t close” — even though 23 out of 24 media members scored the match for Gordon per MMA Decisions — has led to Weidman stating that “The Baddy” was potentially “delusional.”
“Paddy is just confusing the hell out of me,” Weidman said when speaking on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel. “I just want to know is it a gimmick? Like, him jumping on the mic right after he gets the decision. I thought he definitely lost 30-27. I thought he lost all three rounds — the second round maybe being the closest — but I still think he lost. If I was being generous to him, I’d give him the second. That being said, I do not know if it’s confidence or a gimmick. It’s either he’s completely delusional or it’s a gimmick. And if it’s a gimmick, all power to him, I bow down to him, you’re doing a great job. But if he’s that delusional, he’s out of his mind.
“For him to think he could give a good match to Makhachev and compare himself to Charles Oliveira when he was getting rag-dolled by a guy Jared Gordon, who I have a lot of respect for, but he’s a small ’55er, and he’s talking about Makhachev, who’s specialty is wrestling and Oliveira, these monster dudes whose specialty is ground game and stuff.
“I don’t understand where he’s getting this from. How could he talk like that?”
Fellow UFC Star Sean O’Malley Scored the Fight for Gordon Also
“Suga” Sean O’Malley, Pimblett’s counterpart in terms of star power, went onto his YouTube channel and said that he scored the fight for “Flash,” not Pimblett. And he compared the MMA community’s reaction to The Baddy’s win to his when he defeated Petr Yan in a controversial split decision in October.
“When we all watched it, there were a bunch of people in the room,” O’Malley said. “I don’t think there was one person that scored the fight [for Pimblett] — and that’s coming from me who literally everyone just said that about a couple months ago. If that’s how people felt watching my fight, I’m like, “Oh …”
“Everyone in our building was like, ‘Damn, Paddy lost,'” O’Malley continued. “One hundred percent. Then it was a unanimous decision and I’m like, ‘Well, I thought Paddy won at least one round.’ But then they announce that. What?”
Pimblett Remains Unbeaten Inside the UFC’s Octagon
The Baddy left the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, last weekend with the victory, and he improved his win streak in the promotion to four. He has a professional mixed martial arts record of 20-3 with six wins via KO/TKO and nine by submission.
All in all, The Baddy has won his last six fights in a row and December 10 marked Pimblett’s most high-profile performance.
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Ex-UFC Champion Shares Strong Take on Potentially ‘Delusional’ Paddy Pimblett