UFC boss Dana White expects Paddy Pimblett to fight in either Boston or New York before making his debut in Las Vegas.
Pimblett picked up his third successive UFC win last weekend by submitting Jordan Leavitt at UFC London. It marked Pimblett's second win in the English capital this year having also submitted Kazula Vargas at The O2 arena in March. 'The Baddy' has insisted that he won't fight again in the UK until the promotion visits Anfield Stadium, the venue of his beloved football team Liverpool FC.
All of Pimblett's three fights in the UFC have taken place on fight-night cards, but White thinks it's now time to book Pimblett on a pay-per-view event in the US. “I think what we do next is we take him to either Boston or New York and he ends up on pay-per-view and then you bring him to Vegas," he said.
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White admitted that despite Pimblett being one of the UFC's biggest stars, it's too soon to rush him into a fight against a top lightweight contender. “To talk about championship stuff now it’s a little too soon, but he’s got that Conor McGregor vibe," he added. "When he walks, when he’s in the arena, the way that the fans receive him, the way that the media covers him. The way that the people who search for content.”
White then proved Pimblett's drawing power by comparing the views of UFC London's main event face-off between Tom Aspinall and Curtis Blaydes, which did 203,000 views on his Instagram account, whilst Pimblett's face-off with Leavitt reeled in 1.7 million.
Pimblett doesn't want to fight again in The O2 arena because he thinks the venue's 20,000 capacity is "too small". White has played down any chance of the UFC hosting an event at Anfield because of the unpredictable weather in England, but Pimblett is confident he can get the president to change his mind.
"I know for a fact now that I'll be fighting on pay-per-views," he said. "I know I won't be fighting in the O2 again, it's too small. As I say, we will do Anfield, I promise you now. Dana's said that he won't do Anfield, but he also said women wouldn't fight in the UFC years ago and Ronda Rousey came along. He said he won't do a stadium in the UK, but the Baddy's come along. So we will."
