Paddy Pimblett looks forward to his next UFC against Jared Gordon; "Charles Oliveira finished him in the first round. And I aspire to be champ," Pimblett said; He backs Molly McCann to bounce back from defeat to Erin Blanchfield
Thursday 1 December 2022 14:24, UK
Paddy Pimblett has backed close friend and fellow UFC fighter Molly McCann to return "stronger than ever".
McCann suffered a punishing submission defeat to Erin Blanchfield earlier this month.
But Pimblett, a popular mixed martial artist from Liverpool like McCann, insisted: "She's very disappointed but she's sound. We all have losses, we all come back from them and she'll come back stronger than ever. I know for a fact she will."
Pimblett emphasised there is no shame in that defeat.
"No loss is ever easy to take, especially the way it happened. But she fought one of the best women in the world," he said.
"No one else would take that fight against that girl, knowing how good her grappling is, but Molly took it. It's as simple as that. No one else would take that fight. That girl's going to end up fighting for the belt in two or three fights. She's going to be one of the top three in that weight division, 100 per cent.
"She could end up winning the belt, you never know," he continued. "She's a child prodigy when it comes to jiujitsu.
"That was a simple striker versus grappler match and if Molly would have kept her on her feet, Molly would have knocked her out. But the girl got her to the floor [and] her ground game is ridiculously good."
Pimblett has lost in his professional career but is unbeaten in his three UFC fights.
"It's going to be difficult for me when I start fighting ranked people, that's just why I believe in myself so much," he conceded.
"People on the internet [say:] 'He should be fighting Michael Chandler or Dustin Poirier'. They haven't got a clue what they're talking about. When I'm fighting them I'll be getting the wages to fight them. At the minute I'm in no rush.
"I'm still climbing the ladder. And I'm not going to start demanding fights with anyone. I'm not going to mention anyone's name. People talk about me.
"I don't mention anyone's name or call anyone out because everyone has my name in their mouth. Why would I give someone else free publicity, mentioning their name?"
His next bout will be against American Jared Gordon on December 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
"Every fight's a step up. There's no easy fights in the UFC. It's that simple," he said. "There's no gimme fights.
"It's the hardest weight division in the world.
"Jared's 4-1 in his last five. His last defeat before that was the former champ Charles Oliveira, Charles finished him in the first round and I aspire to be champ," he added.
"So I want to finish him in the first round."
