Paddy Pimblett believes his sparring partners are providing better preparation for UFC 324 than Justin Gaethje’s.
Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is set to face Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) for the interim lightweight title on January 24th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winner is expected to fight for the unified belt against champion Ilia Topuria.
For his UFC 324 training camp, Gaethje has been working with former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and top-15 lightweight Fares Ziam. While Pimblett holds both fighters in high regard, he doesn't believe they can adequately prepare Gaethje for his unique style.
“It makes me laugh because this is the second time someone has brought in Kamaru Usman as a sparring partner for me, and Kamaru Usman is nothing like me,” Pimblett told MMA Guru. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s one of the greatest welterweights of all time, but his style is completely different from mine. Same with Fares Ziam—a very good fighter, he’s number 15 in the rankings now. I respect Fares, I think he’s a good fighter, but he’s nothing like me.”
Pimblett is the betting favorite against Gaethje and envisions himself being too much for “The Highlight” both on the feet and on the ground.
“I think I’ll finish him wherever the fight goes,” Pimblett said. “I know he can hit hard, but in every breakdown of our opponents, I was actually shocked at how often he gets hit. I know he takes one to give one, but at this level, you can’t just rely on that. That’s why he’s lost to guys like Eddie Alvarez, Dustin Poirier, Charles (Oliveira)—you can’t just take shots to land your own. I’m not going to stand there and let him hit me. I’ll use my range, keep him at a distance, and I feel like I’m going to knock him out, to be honest. I don’t know why, I just have that feeling.”
“For this camp, I’ve done a lot of rounds with Luke Riley. Luke has a much better technical striking game than Justin Gaethje, and I’m having great success sparring with him. One of my coaches, Ellis (Hampson), who is also a former fighter, has the same build as Justin. He’s 5’10” with a 5’10” reach, and I’ve been doing rounds with him. Since he’s not competing anymore and is just a coach, he was just mimicking Justin’s style for me. He wasn’t using his own style. He was fighting like Justin, and from what we’re working on, I see myself knocking him out or taking him down and submitting him. People talk about his takedown defense, but if I want to take him down, I’ll take him down. It’s that simple. But I envision taking him down, getting on top, and finishing him with a submission or ground-and-pound TKO.”