Paddy Pimblett weighs in for UFC 282 fight
Paddy Pimblett will face grizzled veteran Tony Ferguson on the UFC 296 undercard at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on December 16. The fight speaks volumes about where Dana White and UFC executives view the Liverpudlian and his trajectory in the sport.
Ferguson, a former interim lightweight champion and arguably the greatest UFC fighter to have never fought for an undisputed title, is a shadow of his former self. At his peak, he put together an iconic 12-fight winning streak in MMA’s premier promotion with victories over former world champions Rafael Dos Anjos and Anthony Pettis along the way.
He was a force to be reckoned with at 155lb and many believed he was the uncrowned champion at the weight. However, five failed attempts to make the blockbuster showdown with lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov stagnated his rise and eventually, he would embark on one of the biggest falls from grace in the history of the sport.
At present, Ferguson is on a six-fight skid, the longest active losing streak in the UFC. The future Hall of Famer looks every bit of his 39 years and it’s hard to believe how good he was just four years ago when watching his most recent fights.
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After his last contest – a third-round submission loss to unranked lightweight Bobby Green – UFC fans and fighters pleaded with Ferguson to retire. Yet he now finds himself booked in to face a 28-year-old up-and-coming prospect, who is 4-0 inside the Octagon.
To put things into perspective, Conor McGregor, a man Pimblett is often compared to in terms of his mass appeal, fought Dennis Siver in his fifth fight. A victory there elevated him into a UFC interim featherweight title bout against Chad Mendes in his next outing.
Pimblett, has, of course, been sidelined by injury since last December but that has never stopped the UFC from throwing their fighters into challenging contests. This is as clear a sign as any that White and Co don’t believe Pimblett is ready to take that next step up and aren’t willing to risk a blemish on their cash cow’s record.
Despite his obvious pulling power, Pimblett’s contentious decision victory over Jared Gordon last time out has seen his stock fall tenfold. 23 of 24 MMA media outlets scored the fight in favour of Gordon and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t associated with Pimblett that wouldn’t do the same.
A win against Ferguson won’t improve his standing with hardcore fans but may be able to pull the wool over the eyes of casual observers. Regardless it’s an awful fight.
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