Paddy Pimblett has responded to Dana White's UFC Anfield claims after the president of the company poured cold water on an event taking place at the home of Liverpool FC. Pimblett is set for his third fight in the UFC next month and his second in the UK, when he'll come up against his toughest opponent to date in Jordan Leavitt at UFC London.
'The Baddy' has been confirmed on the card along with fellow Liverpudlians Darren Till and Molly McCann, and will see Tom Aspinall headlining, when he'll take on number three ranked Curtis Blaydes. For Pimblett though, he'll come up against Leavitt in what will be a big step up from his previous opponents. Leavitt has a record of 10-1 and is seen as a dangerous striker.
Leavitt, will turn 27 three weeks before their June fight has fought four times in the UFC, in comparison to Pimblett's two fights so far. However, as one of the rising stars of the roster, fans will be excited to see what kind of preparations 'The Baddy' goes through, after he has gained over 40lbs since his last bout against Rodrigo Vargas in March.
Should he defeat Leavitt, he'll be on the path towards fighting ranked opponents and potentially being a few bouts away from entering the title picture. Once he gets there, he's made his feelings clear that he wants to fight at Anfield - being a huge Liverpool fan.
Speaking of the UFC's possibility on going to Anfield whilst on the Spinning Backfist MMA show, Dana White recently doubted that an card will ever happen at the stadium.
He said: "I'm not going outside. I'm definitely not going outside in f***ing England. Listen, if you're going to go outside you go to Abu Dhabi where it's hot as hell and absolutely not going to rain."
Pimblett has now reacted to the tweet by citing White's 2011 comments in which he said women would "never" fight in the UFC, replying: "My man also once said women will never fight in the UFC... then Ronda [Rousey] came along. Ya boy gonna do the same thing Anfield we coming baby."
Pimblett has recently admitted that he reached the 200lb mark after gaining over 50 pounds from his fighting weight at UFC London in March. He has confirmed that he will document his weight cutting transformation on his YouTube page.
