UFC lightweight Jared Gordon isn’t dismissing his next opponent. Gordon is set to face Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett, who is enjoying a UFC hype train not seen since the early days of Conor McGregor’s rise to the top. Gordon, in an interview with The MMA Hour, explained exactly why he won’t be underestimating this opponent.
“Listen, a fight’s a fight. He goes for it on the feet. I think he’s more dangerous on the feet than people give him credit for and he’s tricky. He’s unpredictable. He has three finishes in the UFC right now and he’s on a big streak. Anything can happen.
Jared Gordon Will Not Discount Paddy Pimblett
I think he’s more well prepared, and he has a lot of support, and he has the money now to afford to have nutritionists and other coaches and traveling for training and new ideas and new people. Sometimes all you need is a little tweak in your game, and all of a sudden, things change for you in a good way. I am not underestimating him whatsoever. I think it’s going to be a fun, tough fight.”
Some have criticized Pimblett for rising to fame so quickly despite not facing any elite opposition in his three UFC appearances thus far. Gordon acknowledged this, pointing out that he marks a step up in competition for the Liverpudlian.
“He’s had three fights, he’s 3-0 with three finishes, and he’s got to get a step up eventually, right? I think with our backstory, we’ve been calling each other out, it just makes sense at this point.
I fought his teammate Chris Fishgold before Paddy was even in the UFC, so when he got signed he named like three or four guys [he wanted to fight] and I was one of them, [he said] ‘I would like to get that one back for my team.’ Then every time after we fought, however many times it’s been for the both of us, we’ve been calling each other out. It’s a good storyline. Time for a bump in competition.” Gordon also revealed that he has a rough prediction for the fight itself.
“He’s come in and do what he says he’s going to do. He’s had some adversity in his fights, and he’s shown that he can overcome some adversity and come back and win. Now, I’m not saying that his opponents were the best fighters ever, but still [there was] a lot of pressure on him to go and perform. He did what he was supposed to do. He’s done his job.”
What’s your prediction for Gordon vs Pimblett? Let us know in the comments.
