Paddy Pimblett Opens Up on Viral Bus Altercation with UFC 304 Fighter
Paddy Pimblett spoke out on his viral bus shouting match with UFC up-and-comer Caolán Loughran during UFC 304 fight week.
Pimblett defeated UFC lightweight veteran King Green on the UFC 304 main card on Saturday in Manchester. He extended his ongoing win streak and remains unbeaten in his UFC tenure following the victory over Green.
After a back-and-forth first few minutes of the bout, Pimblett slept Green in an arm-triangle choke to secure his sixth UFC victory. He signed with the promotion in 2021 and has become one of the top stars in the lightweight division.
Ahead of his UFC 304 showcase, video footage spread online of Pimblett getting into a heated back-and-forth with Loughran en route to the UFC 304 ceremonial weigh-in. While the incident never turned physical, the two shared a heated war of words that went viral.
Paddy Pimblett Talks Beef With Caolán Loughran
At the UFC 304 post-fight press conference, Pimblett addressed his pre-UFC 304 squabble with Loughran.
“He just stood up and started chatting s***,” Pimblett said. “I was sitting at the back of the bus speaking to someone and I just said ‘Oh, Jordan Vucenic’s been signed? Another Cage Warriors fighter?’. He’s very good…it’s funny how Jordan Vucenic and Morgan Charriere have been signed and Paul Hughes is fighting in the PFL in the B-Leagues…
“He stood up and went ‘Paul Hughes would smoke you!’. Lad, who are you talking to?” Pimblett continued. “People made a big deal out of that like I was trying to bully him. He started it. If you’re gonna start something with me, be prepared to finish it, because I’ll put you in your place, it’s as simple as that. Talking s*** about my teammates last week, so I’m gonna put him in his place and that’s what I did. It’s one of those people trying to start s*** with me for a little publicity.”
As of this writing, Loughran hasn’t provided further comment on the incident with Pimblett. He lost to Jake Hadley by unanimous decision at UFC 304.
Pimblett has earned recent wins over Tony Ferguson, Jared Gordon, and Jordan Leavitt in the UFC. He’ll likely enter the lightweight Top 15 this week following the victory over Green.
Pimblett and PFL star Paul Hughes have gone back and forth on social media for months. His comments about Hughes seemed to be the main catalyst for the verbal altercation with Loughran.
After UFC 304, there’s no love between Pimblett, Hughes and Loughran. Despite their similar career paths, Pimblett holds no respect for two of his former Cage Warriors colleagues.
