Paddy Pimblett admits it could be two years before he faces a top-15 lightweight in the UFC despite winning three fights in his first year.
The former Cage Warriors champion has burst onto the scene with explosive early victories since signing with the promotion in September of last year. But fans have criticised the level of opponents he has faced, with two of his three rivals Luigi Vendramini and Rodrigo Vargas quickly cut from the roster soon after their losses to the Brit.
Speaking with the legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and TV prankster Steve-O on Tyson's podcast Hot Boxin', Pimblett explained he "isn't delusional" about his ability and wants to take each fight as it comes. The UFC's top 15 at lightweight is a gruesome set of fighters, with the legendary Conor McGregor as low as No.12 on the list.
"I won't be just yet for a while," Pimblett responded when Steve-O noted that he wouldn't be fighting a ranked opponent any time soon, having earlier said that it wouldn't happen for a year or two. "I'm not delusional, I'm not getting ahead of myself, I'm taking each fight as it comes and I'm fighting at lightweight.
"I know my next opponent isn't going to be ranked because the division is that stacked. I know I'm going to have to win another three or four fights to get a ranked opponent so I'm not worrying, I'm just getting on with it."
Pimblett believes that the 155lb division, currently without a champion due to Charles Oliveira missing weight ahead of his last title defence, is a "shark tank". He believes that with so many top fighters at the weight, there should be a further 15 rankings underneath the current rankings.
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Asked if he would fight Sean O'Malley by Tyson, Pimblett explained he couldn't face a bantamweight because of the size difference. The American is a big 135lb fighter, but the Scouser recently tipped the scales at 206.6lb, meaning he'll have to cut from a qualified heavyweight to lightweight in his next fight camp. "My weight should have like a top 30," Pimblett explained. "Never mind a top 15, my weight's a shark tank."
Pimblett also isn't buying into the idea that his division doesn't have a champion and believes that Oliveira is the rightful title holder. He was stripped for missing weight by half-a-pound ahead of his May 14 defence against Justin Gaethje but comfortably beat him and is now facing Islam Makhachev for the vacant title at UFC 280 next month.
"It's not vacant, though, is it?" Pimblett joked when Steve-O explained the situation to Tyson, a more casual fan of the sport. "Oliveira's the champ. Technically it's vacant, but really he missed weight by half-a-pound and this defence is to record Khabib [Nurmagomedov]'s three-defence record."
