Paddy Pimblett says his fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 is a ‘Lose-Lose Situation’
Paddy Pimblett sees his fight against Tony Ferguson as a lose-lose situation.
On December 16, the Liverpudlian fan favorite will make his return to the Octagon after more than a year on the shelf following his fourth-straight win under the UFC banner. Welcoming him back will be lightweight legend Tony Ferguson who will look to snap a six-fight losing skid at the promotion’s final pay-per-view of the year.
Weeks ahead of their UFC 295 clash, Pimblett spoke with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi about his impending return and his somewhat controversial pairing with Ferguson.
“It’s a big fight,” Pimblett said of the matchup. “The biggest fight of my life, fighting an absolute legend of the sport. He’s one of the top five lightweights of all time. He went on a 12-fight win streak. He’s a brilliant fighter. He’s got a great personality as well so I can’t wait to share the Octagon with such a legend.”
Upon hearing Dana White’s announcement that Pimblett, who is currently riding a six-fight win streak, would be squaring off with Ferguson, fight fans were immediately critical, suggesting that the promotion is leading the former interim champion to slaughter before an inevitable retirement.
“This is a lose-lose situation for me because if I beat him, people will be like, ‘Tony was finished anyway. He needed to retire anyway,’ but if the unthinkable happens and I do lose, I’ve been beaten by a finished Tony Ferguson,” Pimblett continued. “So it’s one of them. It’s a lose-lose situation, but at the same time, I’ve told you before and I’ll say it again; I never turn down a fight.
“Whatever fight gets offered to me, I take it and I got offered Tony Ferguson.”
Paddy Pimblett Knows Tony Ferguson is Still One of the most dangerous fighters at lightweight
While ‘El Cucuy’ has lost his last six bouts, all of those losses came against some of the most dangerous fighters in the history of the 155-pound division, including Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira, Beneil Dariush, Michael Chandler, and Nate Diaz. Taking that into consideration, Pimblett still recognizes the danger that Ferguson himself presents every time he steps inside the Octagon.
“He’s a very dangerous guy. He can finish anyone,” Pimblett said. “Even in the fights that he’s lost on the six-fight losing streak, he nearly finished Justin Gaethje in the second round. Nearly finished Michael Chandler in the first round. He dropped Bobby Green in the first round. So it’s not as if in all of these fights he’s being absolutely dominated.”
To prepare for his scrap with ‘The Baddy’ next month, Tony Ferguson enlisted the help of ex-U.S. Navy Seal and ultramarathon runner David Goggins. You can check out all the insane highlights from Ferguson’s “hell week” with the International Sports Hall of Famer right here.
