Getty Paddy Pimblett before his fight with Jordan Leavitt.
UFC superstar Paddy Pimblett would ‘love’ to get the opportunity to compete in an old-school tournament.
Pimblett is coming off a win over Jordan Leavitt in his last outing in July at UFC London. After an early struggle, Pimblett turned things around to assert his dominance with a second-round finish by submission. It marked his third win under the banner, maintaining a perfect finish rate in as many outings.
The English fan favorite joined the promotion as one of the most popular rising talents with a preexisting level of star power only comparable to former two-division champion Conor McGregor during his arrival. While he does not have his next fight booked yet, Pimblett opened up about an ambition inspired by the UFC before it was the most elite mixed martial arts promotion in the world.
In a recent episode of the “Chattin Pony” podcast, Pimblett hosted former UFC light heavyweight champion, Tito Ortiz. ‘The Baddy’ talked about his desire to compete in the early days of MMA when a single-night tournament was the preferred format for the events.
“The one thing I am envious of the old school days though is the tournaments,” Pimblett said. “I’d love to fight multiple times in one night, I would.”
Ortiz Does Not Think Tournaments Are Practical Now
Ortiz shared his experience competing during the ‘dark days’ of the sport. He argued that the traditional method would not work for today’s level of competition.
“Yeah I think as the challenge, it’s tougher and tougher and tougher,” Ortiz responded. “You kind of realize that that’s why you only fight one time a night. Fighting twice a night, you take an a** whooping the first one and you win by decision. All of a sudden, you adrenaline is through the roof. Now your adrenaline dump is gone and now you gotta warm up for another fight.
“It makes it a lot more challenging, for sure. It’s just, like I said, the quality of fighters now are totally different from compared to the qualities of fighters prior. Even before I fought, the guys were just one dimensional. They were either wrestlers, the new ground and pound or they are kickboxers who try to learn how to wrestle. I think the first generation of well-rounded guys were like, Frank Shamrock, that understood everything.”
Ortiz Labeled Pimblett a Savage
Ortiz is a grizzled veteran who made his professional debut in May 1997. He competed at UFC 13 – The Ultimate Force, beating Wes Albritton with a TKO in under a minute before losing to Guy Mezger by submission in his next bout within some minutes of one another.
According to ‘The Huntington Beach Bad Boy,’ the sport has transformed significantly since its earlier days, effectively ruling out the old system.
“We kind of evolved with the sport as it came along. I know I did,” Ortiz added. “I went along and did the kickboxing, the jiu-jitsu, went and trained with all the best guys possible… Nowadays, doing the tournament, it’s a lot more difficult for sure, unless it was a long period of time where there’s a couple of months in between, I think that would be better.
Ortiz believes Pimblett is a savage for wanting to participate in multiple fights in a single night.
“But I mean you’re a savage to say you want to fight more than once in one night. It’s tough, a lot tougher than what people think.”