Paddy Pimblett addressed his UFC 324 loss to Justin Gaethje for the first time. Pimblett offered a measured response after the most high-profile fight of his career. He reflected on the outcome and what it means for the lightweight division.
Pimblett faced Gaethje for the interim lightweight championship in the UFC 324 main event. The winner would secure a title unification bout with Ilia Topuria when he returns from his brief hiatus. Gaethje defeated ‘The Baddy’ by unanimous decision in a hard-fought bout that earned both fighters a Fight of the Night bonus.
In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Pimblett acknowledged Gaethje showing up in peak form. He accepted the loss as a valuable learning experience but expressed interest in a rematch before ‘The Highlight’ retires.
“Hats off to [Gaethje]. I hope he wins the undisputed [lightweight] title off Ilia [Topuria],” Pimblett said. “Even though I don’t think he’s got too many fights left, hopefully we can run it back in the future because there’s a couple things in that fight that [expletive] me off.”
Pimblett emphasized that although he would like to correct mistakes he made, he remains optimistic about a rematch.
“We get on with it, it’s done now. Nothing we can do or go back and change. I just hope in the future he can step up and have a rematch with me.”
Paddy Pimblett Provides Health Update After UFC 324 Defeat to Justin Gaethje
Paddy Pimblett also provided a health update following his loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC 324. He absorbed numerous significant strikes from Gaethje, which tested his durability and toughness.
Pimblett was also unfortunately on the receiving end of eye pokes. Fouls, particularly eye poke, have been a major concern and talking point within the MMA community.
Aside from his eyes, Pimblett said that he is recovering well.
“I’ve got a little bruising. The only thing wrong with me is my eyeballs from the fingernails scratching my eyeballs,” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. “We get on with it, I’ve had a nice week of chilling.”
Pimblett said that, all things considered, he is relatively fine after the fight and plans to compete in the summer.
“There’s nothing wrong with me. The only thing wrong with me is I’ve got a scratched cornea, but I’ll be back in the gym tomorrow and back training,” Pimblett said. “People think I’ve got to take the rest of the year off. I’m not, I’ll be fighting in the summer.”
Pimblett Takes Aim at Dan Hooker
Pimblett will have no shortage of appealing matchups when he returns to the octagon. However, he took aim at Dan Hooker, which could signify that the two may fight next.
Pimblett and Hooker have gone back-and-forth on social media and through interviews, and clearly dislike each other. Following his TKO loss to Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 325 last Saturday, ‘The Baddy’ expressed joy in seeing ‘Hangman’ lose.
“Nice to see Dan [Hooker] get TKO’d after the [expletive] he was chatting. He probably enjoyed me losing last week,” Pimblett said in his YouTube video. “That was probably a generational hate watch for him. I never got finished thought.”
Paddy Pimblett Breaks Silence After UFC 324 Defeat to Justin Gaethje