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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Charlie Wilson

Paddy Pimblett outlines UFC fight plans for 2022 but admits huge problem

A strong argument could be made that no fighter in UFC history has made a bigger name for themselves after one fight than Paddy Pimblett.

The Liverpool fighter has gone on to become a legitimate superstar within the company having stepped into the UFC octagon on just one occasion.

That's how much his personality has resonated with people after his impressive knockout against Luigi Vendramini in September.

Paddy 'the Baddy' been known in the Mixed Martial Arts world for a few years now, but became a mainstream name last year when he joined the UFC.

The company had earlier looked to sign Pimblett on two other occasions but he turned them down. Last year, he made the decision to join and hasn't looked back since.

After his debut win, Pimblett has taken a few months out of the ring, admitting to a longer beak than he would have liked.

But the opportunity has arisen for him to fight to in front of his UK supporters in London - which is one worth waiting for.

He'll face Mexican Rodrigo 'Kazula' Vargas at the O2 Arena on March 19 and hopes to make lightwork of his opponent before going on to fight twice more in 2022.

He told the ECHO: "I still want to fight three times in 2022. "Hopefully I come out of this fight nice and fast, quick finish and unscathed and I can get another fight in quickly."

But Pimbeltt has somewhat of a scheduling problem this summer - he's got tickets to Glastonbury.

He said: "I have got a Glasto ticket for once this year - I've actually got a ticket. I'm usually paying security guards to get me in!

"So hopefully I'll go Glasto, have the summer off and then someone else can get beat up in September or October."

The June festival will mean he'll look to fight earlier in the month, or potentially in May.

A number of fighters have called him out including Fares Ziam, a young Frenchman who is also seen as one of the up-and-coming stars at the class.

But Pimblett has publicly stated that he's only interested in coming up against ranked fighters and it looks like that's exactly what he's going to get.

It was recently revealed that UFC legend Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone has his eyes on Pimblett, too.

A man who is certainly confident in his own abilities, Pimblett will certainly be aiming for a title shot.

But at his young age and in a stacked division featuring Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje and Conor McGregor, he knows that he will have to work his way up to be considered amongst the top fighters.

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