UFC 324 could serve as a coming-out party for Paddy Pimblett.
“The Baddy” challenges longtime veteran Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title in the promotion’s Paramount+ debut this weekend at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A victory is likely to send Pimblett (23-3) into a grudge match with Ilia Topuria at some point later this year.
Sound familiar? We’ve seen this story play out once before
.“Paddy’s undefeated in UFC, never been knocked out,“ White told TMZ Sports. ”He reminds me of the
Conor McGregor story. He came in with this great personality, and they were always overlooking him. Every time they fought, everybody believed they were going to lose.“
“Paddy has been that guy more so than Conor McGregor,” White continued. “This is a huge test for him. Gaethje’s been wanting a shot at the title, so here we go. Every time [Pimblett] fights, he’s the underdog, and people think he’s gonna lose.”
That’s not even close to being accurate.
Pimblett is actually the betting favorite against Gaethje, just as he was against Michael Chandler at UFC 314. In fact, the 31 year-old “Baddy” has closed as the betting favorite in all seven of his UFC fights, dating back to his Octagon debut against “Italian Stallion” Luigi Vendramini back in late 2021.
For the rest of the UFC 324 fight card click here.
