Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Farah Hannoun

Paddy Pimblett not a fan of chatter surrounding UFC 296 fight with Tony Ferguson

Paddy Pimblett expects to receive criticism regardless of the outcome of his fight against Tony Ferguson.

Pimblett (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) meets the skidding Ferguson (25-9 MMA, 15-7 UFC) on Dec. 16 at UFC 296 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “El Cucuy” has lost six consecutive fights, four of them by finish. “The Baddy” is aware of the online chatter that he’s a winnable fight for Ferguson but reiterates that he sees this fight as a lose-lose situation.

“I don’t even know because obviously he’s lost six in a row,” Pimblett said on the “Energized Show.” “But they’re all big names, they’re all very good names apart from Bobby Green. So I don’t know. I really don’t. As I’ve said plenty of times, I see this as a lose-lose fight for me because if I did lose, people will be like, ‘Oh, you got beat by a washed Tony.’

“And when I win, people are going to be like, ‘Oh, Tony was washed anyway. It doesn’t matter.’ Even though I’m seeing everyone online picking Tony to beat me, I know for a fact, even when I win, I’m not going to get any credit.”

Ferguson has notoriously left his past opponents in a pool of blood during his 12-fight winning streak, and Pimblett hopes they both end up in a barnburner. The close win over Jared Gordon left a bad taste in Pimblett’s mouth, and he looks to erase it with a memorable battle vs. Ferguson.

“I want a war,” Pimblett said. “I want to look like Anthony Pettis after he fought him, and I want him to look worse than Anthony Pettis after he fought him. I want a scrap, lad. I’m going to come in and throw down.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 296.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.