English mixed martial artist Paddy Pimblett is one of the UFC’s fastest-rising stars, and he’ll be back fighting inside the Octagon sooner than you may think.
We haven’t seen the scouser compete in nearly a year. Riding the momentum of a five-fight win streak, “The Baddy” met Jared Gordon in the center of the cage at UFC 282 in December 2022. In what was Pimblett’s closest UFC tilt yet, the affair went all three rounds before the judges rendered their decision.
Pimblett left Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena with the unanimous decision victory, but it wasn’t without controversy or injury. Many fans and pundits watching scored the bout for “Flash,” and Pimblett later revealed he had hurt his ankle fighting the American.
The Baddy eventually went under the knife and has been out of action since. But, that’ll change during the promotion’s next pay-per-view event.
Pimblett is scheduled to return to the T-Mobile Arena on December 16 to write the biggest test of his 20-3 professional career. He’s drawn former interim UFC lightweight champion and The Ultimate Fighter 13 winner Tony Ferguson, and they’ll duke it out as part of UFC 296’s main card.
It’s a meeting between two competitors in different stages of their careers. Pimblett is on the come-up, and by adding “El Cucuy” to his mantel, he’ll likely be knocking on the door of a top-15 ranking. For Ferguson, he’ll look to end his winless drought at 39 years old.
One of the most beloved characters in the sport, Ferguson is potentially fighting for his UFC contract — he hasn’t picked up a win in over four years. All in all, El Cucuy has dropped his last six fights, losing to the likes of Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Michael Chandler. In his most recent outing, Ferguson was taken out via arm-triangle choke courtesy of Bobby Green in July.
If he suffers a defeat at the hands of Pimblett — a wildly popular combatant, but his resume doesn’t hold a candle to Ferguson’s — then the aging El Cucuy may be out of a job come the new year.
Speaking of The Baddy’s resume, the match with Ferguson will mark his fifth Octagon appearance. Although his fight with Gordon was razor-close, Pimblett’s other three UFC victories came by stoppage. He knocked out Luigi Vendramini in his organizational debut in September 2021 before submitting Rodrigo Vargas with a rear-naked choke in March 2022.
He faced off against “The Monkey King,” Jordan Leavitt, in his third contest as a UFC athlete, and he sunk in a rear-naked choke to cap off his night at the office in July 2022.