Dan Hardy thinks the sky is the limit for Paddy Pimblett.
Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) gets his first title opportunity in the UFC when he takes on Justin Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) for the interim lightweight belt in Saturday’s UFC 324 (Paramount+) headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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A former Cage Warriors champion, Pimblett turned down the UFC twice before finally signing with the promotion 2021. His star power was evident from the start, and he has remained unbeaten in the octagon en route to this shot.
“I love the trajectory Paddy’s got, the impact that he’s had,” Hardy told Submission Radio. “His brand arrived at the right time in the UFC, and he’s capitalized on it very well. The best version of Gaethje can definitely beat Paddy, but I don’t think we’ve seen the best version of Paddy yet, and that makes me excited to see what he’s going to do against Gaethje.”
Hardy saw the most refined version of Pimblett yet in his dominant TKO of Michael Chandler at UFC 314. Pimblett often has been criticized for keeping his chin up and taking hard shots, coining his infamous phrase “scousers don’t get knocked out.”
“Every time we see him, his striking has gotten noticeably better,” Hardy said. “Obviously grappling is his main asset, but the work he did against Chandler in that first minute, beating up his lead leg and then starts to stab the body with that front kick, as well. That was a way more measured version of Paddy. We did still see him try and throw a flying knee and a jumping triangle. There’s still chaos in his game, and that’s one of the reasons why he’s so effective. If you go back to his Cage Warriors days, he was all chaos. You were waiting on the edge of your seat for him to just go, and once he went, it was flying knees, and he was coming at you.
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“Usually it was the overwhelming style of his game that used to expose people’s backs, and that’s how he had so many quick finishes, was making people scramble out of position and doing things they don’t really want to do and capitalizing on it. That’s where Paddy’s game plan has got to be. He’s got to keep it MMA, force Gaethje to scramble. Even though Gaethje’s got really good takedown defense, it’s like 65-70 percent. Create the scrambles, create the opportunities to throw those knees, the flying knees. It doesn’t matter if Gaethje is backpedaling. Paddy’s so good at riding the crest of that chaotic wave that he creates, and that’s where you find him on your back, under your neck, and you’re struggling to breathe.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 324: ‘Best version’ of Paddy Pimblett still to come?
