EXCLUSIVE | Paddy Pimblett Hopes To Make UFC Debut In ‘Late July Or August’
Former Cage Warriors featherweight champion, Paddy Pimblett finally made his long-awaited leap to the UFC last month, and currently riding a two-fight winning streak, he hopes to make his promotional bow before the close of this summer.
Linked with a move to the Dana White-led organization ever since he assumed the Cage Warriors 145-pound throne back in September of 2016, Pimblett repeatedly knocked back reported offers from the promotion in order to score more experience under the Graham Boylan-led banner.
Inking a multi-fight deal with the North American-based promotion in March, Pimblett had predicted a quickfire win over Davide Martinez at Cage Warriors 122 as part of their Trilogy of events in March, before he would finally put pen to paper on a UFC contract.
Following through with his prediction, the Liverpool native managed to stop Italy’s, Martinez with a rear-naked choke win, with just over a minute and a half elapsed in the opening frame of their March showdown. The victory marked Pimblett’s second consecutively, following a March 2020 Cage Warriors 113 knockout win over Decky Dalton.
Speaking with LowKick MMA reporter, Jordan Ellis recently, Pimblett explained that he hopes to have made his debut Octagon walk by “late July or August” this year.
“No inkling in the slightest,” Pimblett replied when asked by Ellis when he could possibly be making his UFC bow. “I reckon it could be around, late July, (or) August something like that.“
Despite the timeline appearing to limit his activity for this year, at least, Pimblett still maintains that he hopes to secure two, if not three fights before the end of the annum.
“I do wanna get one (fight) in this summer,” Pimblett explained. “I wanna try to get two or three fights in before the end of the year. I wanna try and fight in quick succession when I have my first fight.“
As far as a landing pad for his debut goes, Pimblett doesn’t expect a U.K. homecoming for the UFC until crowds can attend, but he earmarked a probable United States debut, before claiming he’d like the opportunity to feature on ‘Fight Island’ in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
“I’m expecting it (the debut) to not be in the U.K. like, to be honest,” Pimblett said. “I don’t think they (the UFC) will come to the U.K. until we have crowds. So I’m expecting it to be in — I think they’ll probably want me on a show where there’s a crowd. So I’m expecting it to be America, to be honest. But I’d love it to be ‘Fight Island’, lad. ‘Fight Island’ would be boss.“
