Who is Paddy the Baddy?
Raising in the UFC roster is Paddy Pimblett, otherwise known as Paddy the Baddy. In his UFC debut, which was one of the most anticipated UFC debuts of that year, Pimblett took on Luigi Vendramini in the opener for the main card of UFC Vegas 36: Darren Till vs Derek Brunson. In his debut in the Octagon, he won, knocking Vendramini out in the first round. Even though he is very early into his career, fans around the world are comparing him to some of the biggest names in combat sports, such as Conor McGregor.
Similar to McGregor, Pimblett started competing and winning championships at Cage Warrior. Both men have very different fighting styles, and when asked about his comparison to McGregor in a recent documentary, Pimblett states: “I know where I am going. I have seen it in my future to be the biggest star in the whole of MMA. I have got the personality, I can fight. Obviously, it’s flattering to be compared to the biggest name the sport has ever seen named Conor McGregor. We both fought on Cage Warriors, we were both champions, brass, and opinionated. He is Irish, I am Scouser.”
With the eyes of the world on Paddy the Baddy, let’s delve deeper into who this British mixed martial artist is.
What You Need to Know
Pimblett’s MMA Career and Early Days
Pimblett’s career started at the very young age of 17, where he fought and won his first fight by submission. In 2012 he began his professional career, when he made his debut in a fight against Nathan Thompson. This fight was won by a technical knockout though. After this fight, he took a keen interest in learning the art of Jiu-Jitsu and worked his way up to claiming a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
After this initial success, Pimblett signed a contract with Cage Warriors Fighting Championship. This promotion company has the likes of McGregor as its alumni. As mentioned, he is compared to McGregor and his rise has been similar. In his promotion, he obtained two division titles.
His CWFC journey began with a win against Florian Calin at the CWFC 56 through a unanimous decision. After obtaining a TKO loss to Cameron Else, in his following fights he had a consecutive nine wins. Included in these wins were big names, such as UFC’s Julian Erosa and Johnny Frachey.
As well as this, he was Cage Warriors’ featherweight champion and won his last fight for their promotion at CW 122 against David Martinez by technical submission.
In his MMA career, Pimblett has secured 17 wins with 3 losses. Six of these were KO/TO wins, seven were submission and four of these were decision wins. His losses have been to Nad Narimani, Cameron Else, and Soren Bak. Usually, Pimblett is both creative and unpredictable with his submissions, but his submission on the record was with Cameron Else.
Pimblett’s Fighting Style
Across critics, Pimblett is known as an exceptional submission artist. He is particularly praised for his creativity with his offense. One thing he might need to watch out for in the bigger fights for the UFC is his striking technique. Despite the fact that Pimblett has knocked his opponents out in the past, he has not been able to show boxing skills so far. In fights in the UFC lightweight championships, particularly against fighters like Dustin Poirier or Justin Gaethje, Pimblett needs to improve his technique or he will struggle in the striking department.
Paddy Pimblett’s Nationality and Upbringing
Pimblett was born on March 1st, 1995 in Liverpool, England. He spent most of his childhood in Liverpool. He was raised by his parents, his father who is an entrepreneur, and his mother, a homemaker. He was raised in the Christian religion and is of Caucasian ethnicity.
When he was a child he quickly became interested in MMA fighting and began to practice martial arts from a young age. He studied in a private school, and shortly after his departure from school he began mixed martial arts on a professional level.
As well as being a fighter, Pimblett is also an entrepreneur as well as a social media influencer.
Pimblett’s Personal Life
Pimblett keeps his life pretty private, so there isn’t a great deal of information about it. As per sources found in Liverpool Echo, Pimblett proposed to his girlfriend on Phi Phi island and posted a happy snap on his Instagram.