🎤 Paddy ‘the Baddie’ Pimblett exclusive on fighting Conor McGregor, Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul, taking UFC to Anfield, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future and more

Paddy Pimblett on UFC

In this captivating interview, UFC star Paddy ‘the Baddie’ Pimblett delves into potential matchups with Renato Moicano and Conor McGregor, shares insights on Mike Tyson fighting Jake Paul, reveals acting ambitions, his take on Liverpool FC’s future, and more.

Are you negotiating for your next fight? 

No, nothing’s being discussed right now. I'm just waiting. I'm just ticking over for now. I'm just in the gym every day, just working on myself, getting me better. I feel like I look better in fights when I don't rush into the next one and I have a couple of months to get better, training every day in the gym. And that's what I'm doing at the minute. I want to fight late March, early April because then the baby's birthday is the 17th of April, so I want to fight before then and then be able to have a little holiday. 

Who do you think is the most realistic opponent and what is the opponent you'd like? 

Both the same answer, Renato Moicano.  He's ranked 11 or something like that. He's a good opponent, he's mentioned me, I've mentioned him. There's only a few ranks between us. He's ranked 11 and I'm 14. So, yeah, let's see.

He called you ‘protected’

It made me laugh. He's going to say whatever. I don't mind. And as I say, I like Renato, he's funny. But I know I'll punch his face in. I know for a fact I will. I've got better grappling than him and think he's a bit chinny and I think I've got better striking than him and think I'd knock him out. 

How far are you away from a title shot if you do knock him out?

If I knock him out, it's one or two more fights and you've got a title shot. It's even easier to get a title shot if Islam's still the champ because he will have beaten everyone anyway. He's beat Charles, he's beat Dustin. If he beats Arman, he's beat Arman. And then who else is there? Gathje, but Gathje's been knocked out by Holloway. If I knock Moicano out and then fight like a Charles Olivera or a Dustin Poirier, I'm getting a title shot. 

You mentioned Colby, you mentioned Conor at Welterweight 

I just said to my manager, ‘Listen, if you want me to fight in Vegas before the end of the year – that card has been announced now – but if I was fighting on that card I needed a ten week notice, I needed to know. But obviously I think the UFC wanted to see what was going to happen with Moicano and he ended up being injured, so nothing ended up coming of it. But I said to my manager, ‘If I don't know within like 10 weeks, I'm not having another fight camp without making weight, so I'll fight at the weight above so I'll fight Colby or I'll fight Conor. If they want me to fight either of them’. 

Who wouldn't want to see McGregor vs the Baddie?
Image: shutterstock/motorsports Photographer

But is that off the table now? 

No, it wasn't on the table at all. That was just something that I said. 

Is it something you're open to if the opportunity presents

Yeah, if they got on me now and said do you want to fight Conor McGregor in December. Of course I'd say yes, I'm not f***** stupid. Or Colby as well, because I think he’s a p****.  He is so fake. Every UFC staff I've spoken to says he's such a nice person. I'm like, but why is he a bellend then? So like he's a proper nice person behind the camera and then it's like, well, that's just a knobhead then because he is fake [in front of the camera] I don't like that lad, I used to watch wrestling when I was a kid, but that's proper wrestling. Nah, I'm not into it. 

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How are you feeling now after your difficulties before your last fight?

[I’m feeling] much better now, the babies are six months old now, lad. I'm sleeping through and we're getting up at like seven or half seven with them and giving them a bit of porridge in the morning and then the bottle. I'm getting myself ready and going to the gym. 

My dad's coming and picking me up because obviously Laura has got to look after the kids. And then as I say, I'm out for a couple of hours training. Some days I don't get home until like four o'clock. Some days I get home a bit earlier and I'll be able to help her. Most of the time she's got them on her own or she has to go to her mum's and stuff like that. But then again, we're putting them to bed every night by like seven and half seven.

You like that responsibility, does it change you or not?

A little bit, yeah. You're not going to be the same person when you've got two little humans left after. I couldn't even contemplate killing myself now. 

Anything you can change so you don't end up in that place again

Yeah, it's not that simple, to be honest. I've had camps before where it’s been smooth sailing. But every camp is different and that camp [for King Green] was one of them. In that camp, it was like six weeks out when Paul and Ellis were talking to me saying ‘if this continues we're going to have to pull you out’. But then I got into a good groove,I felt good going into the fight, the weight cut was alright. I ended up sparring great in the build up to that fight.  As I say, eight to six weeks out, I was in a bit of a bad place.

What was the catalyst for it? What would you think put you there? 

There were multiple different things, stressing about the kids and stuff like that and then I've got a  fight on top of it. Kids had only just been born and  I went back into fight camp. The fight was at the end of July and the kids were born on the 17 April and I was back in fight camp before the end of May, so the kids were five weeks old when I went into fight camp.

You said before you'd like to fight McGregor – how big would that be for your city, for you, for UK MMA - does it catapult it into the stratosphere? 

Yeah, of course it would do. Never mind just the city and the UK, it would be around the world. It would be unbelievable. It got mentioned to me like eight years ago or something when I won the Cage Warriors featherweight belt. Anyone that would say no to fighting McGregor is just an idiot because you're never getting a payday like it. I'd fight McGregor tomorrow, obviously for the city it would be unbelievable. Me, the biggest star in Liverpool MMA fighting the biggest star in the world when it comes to MMA. I'd take that fight in a heartbeat, I'd love that fight. McGregor is a legend. What he's done in the sport, it’s unprecedented, especially in the short space of time he did it in. But I back myself against anyone. 

Could ever convince Dana to go outdoors at Anfield? Is that ever going to happen?

I hope so. I hope I can convince him to go outdoors at Anfield. He needs to come to a footy match to see what the atmosphere is like because I think he thinks it takes away from the atmosphere [going outdoors] But at Anfield it doesn't, mate, when you've got 60,000 scousers in there, it won't.

Could Paddy fight at Anfield?
Image: Yurificacion/via Wikimedia Commons

Describe to me what it would feel like walking down the tunnel to face McGregor

No matter who I was fighting, that would probably mean more than actually winning the belts.  Walking out on Anfield and touching the badge. That would be heavy. But, yeah [losing in front of home fans]  that is always playing in your mind, you can't think about that. You've always got to have it in the back of your mind, it certainly can happen like that. 

Do you think McGregor ever fights again 

Yeah, I do. I don't think he's gonna leave it on that loss to Dustin, I think he's gonna come back.

What do you think happens when Topuria fights Holloway this weekend? 

I don't think either of them walk through either of them, they're both very good fighters. Neither of them are slouches. I love Max Holloway, he's one of my favourite fighters to watch. He's absolutely brilliant. He's got a very tough task in front of him. I might not like Topuria, I might think he's a bellend. But I still think he's a very good fighter and he's got skills. He's got knockout power and he's got good jujitsu. But I just can't see him knocking Max out. Max hasn't been hurt by people who are bigger than him. And I can see Max dancing around him for five rounds and jabbing him up and piecing him up. It's just if they do stand in the centre and start swinging at each other, if Topuria catches him, he can knock him out cold,  he's got power. But

the way Topuria is going on, he's being very annoying. A lot of people used to like him. Everyone knows what he's like now because I know he's a bellend. But as I said, I want Max to win. But we'll see what happens. I'll be watching it. Holloway wins by decision.  

Who is the toughest fight for Jon Jones out there, if he comes through Stipe? 

It's not Pereira as much as I like Pereira, it's not Pereira. It's Aspinall or Ngannou, definitely. It's 100% one of the two. Ngannou’s more power and strength, whereas Aspinall’s more speed and technical. So I'd be honest, I don't know which one out of the two who would give him a tougher fight. Ngannou has got that power, if he touches you your lights go. 

Do you think Tom's ready for Jon Jones? 

He probably is, yeah, Tom looks absolutely outstanding at the minute, you can’t fault him,  everyone he fights it’s over in the first round, knocking them out. They are the top three heavyweights in the world right there. Aspinall, Jones and Ngannou.  But Ngannou’s just going to keep falling down the rankings fighting bin men in PFL.