Paddy Pimblett 's fight on Saturday will be his last in the UK until the UFC holds their debut card at Liverpool's Anfield Stadium.
Pimblett, who is an avid Liverpool fan, makes his third UFC appearance this Saturday night when he takes on Jordan Leavitt at The O2 arena. 'The Baddy' made his UFC debut last September in Las Vegas and last fought on the UFC London card in March, submitting Kazula Vargas in the opening round. Pimblett has previously stated the venue's 20,000 capacity is "too small" and he wants the UFC to book their inaugural event at Anfield.
UFC boss White has previously shut down the idea of holding an event at the stadium, stating he wouldn't hold an event outside in England because of the unpredictable weather. Pimblett thinks his star power is wasted by competing on Fight Night cards in London and wants to compete on pay-per-views in his next bouts.
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"Everyone knows I'm the boy. I'm the new kid on the block," he said. "I'm the one that's getting the bums on seats. This will be my last fight in the UK for a good few years until we do Anfield. After this I'll be fighting on pay-per-views. The UFC is losing too much money having me fight on ESPN+ in the states."
Pimblett has become one of the UFC's most popular fighters after just two wins in the promotion. Fans around the world have been infatuated by the Liverpudlian because of his fighting style and entertaining interviews, something Pimblett predicted would happen several years ago.
"I’ve said for years I’m going to be the biggest MMA star on the planet," he added. "I’m nearly the biggest star in the UFC already and I’ve only had two fights. I've had more media than anyone else this week. I'm doing a sit down face off interview with the mushroom [Leavitt] tomorrow, when does that ever happen when it's not the main event or a title fight? It doesn't, and there's only one reason it's happening, because of me."
'The Baddy' has taken aim at Leavitt ahead of their clash this Saturday and promised to win by first-round knockout and then "teabag" his rival. Leavitt has dismissed Pimblett's rise to stardom in the promotion and criticised the quality of opponents he's beaten so far.
