Paddy Pimblett suffered a brutal, devastating defeat at UFC 324 on Saturday, as Justin Gaethje beat the Liverpudlian star in a five-round war in Las Vegas.
Gaethje won a chaotic contest at the T-Mobile Arena with scores of 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, claiming the interim lightweight title in the process, and costing Pimblett a shot at his bitter rival, Ilia Topuria.
Heading into Saturday’s main event, Pimblett was 7-0 in the UFC, but against Gaethje, he faced his most-experienced opponent yet. And Gaethje’s experience was one of numerous factors that secured him victory over “Paddy The Baddy” in Sin City.
The match-up was largely sold as Gaethje’s knockout power against Pimblett’s submission threat, with many fans and pundits expecting an early finish.
But Pimblett, who once famously said, “I’m a Scouser, we don’t get knocked out,” withstood a frightening amount of punishment across 25 minutes – including multiple knockdowns and two eye pokes.
The fighting was frenzied from the start, and although Pimblett, 31, landed cleanly on his American foe, 37, throughout the bout, Gaethje’s power caused the Briton the greater trouble.
In the first round, amid the back-and-forth action, Gaethje dropped Pimblett by the fence, but the latter somehow survived before complaining of an eye poke later in the round.
By the midway point of round two, Pimblett was already sporting bad swelling around his right eye, and he was dropped again before the end of the frame. However, a replay between rounds showed that he had suffered a second eye poke before the knockdown. In round one, referee Marc Goddard had warned Gaethje that a second eye poke would cost him a point, but the official did not see the latter foul.
Even after two rounds, Pimblett’s corner team sounded panicked, begging him to take down Gaethje. Although Pimblett was not able to take down the American – or especially intent on doing so – he seemed to win the round. Before it was over, however, Gaethje complained of a low blow that halted the action.
Gaethje dropped Pimblett for a third time in the fourth round, as the Scouser continued to throw back and absorb considerable damage. The fifth round brought further sloppy work from both fighters but also immense heart, and a frantic end gave way to the final buzzer.
That sound heralded victory for Gaethje, who won the interim lightweight belt for the second time in his career. Gaethje, who previously held that version of the title in 2020, is now due to fight for undisputed gold for the third time, following two past losses.
Topuria should be next for Gaethje, with the reuglar champion due to return to the Octagon in spring. Topuria, 28, has been taking a break from mixed martial arts due to a “difficult moment” in his personal life, and many fans hoped he would return to take on Pimblett, with whom he has held a grudge since a hotel bust-up in 2022.
But that fight is not to be, for now at least, with Topuria vs Gaethje possibly a contender for the UFC’s planned White House fight card in June.
Meanwhile, Pimblett’s next move is unclear after his first UFC loss, but he will remain ranked in the top 10 and may not be far from another title fight in the future.
“I wanted to be walking away with that belt, and I know how tough I am anyway; I don’t need to prove it to anyone,” Pimblett said in the cage after the fight.
“I wanted to leave with that belt, but there’s no man I’d rather lose to than the ‘Highlight’, someone I grew up watching. It shows why he’s a legend, right there.
“I thought 48-47 was a fair scorecard. I’m not gonna lie, he hit me with a body shot in that first round, hit me right in the solar plexus, and it got me. I thought I was winning the round up until that point.
“I’m 31, you haven’t seen the last of me,” he added, before speaking up in support of men’s mental health, referencing two men close to him who apparently took their lives in recent months. The Liverpool FC fan also paid tribute to the club’s late forward Diogo Jota, and the footballer’s brother Andre Silva, both of whom died in a car crash last summer.
“Scousers cannot get knocked out!” Gathje said in his post-fight interview, paying tribute to Pimblett. “This Scouser does not get knocked out, what a f***ing gangster.
“I knew that I had to put him on his back foot. He’s very dangerous and has great timing. I had to work really hard, but champions move forward, and I just showed you why that is a must. I’ve just really got to trust my coach, ‘move him backwards and put your head on his chest’. I landed some mean ground and pound, that s*** was nasty!”
