Daniel Cormier says Paddy Pimblett proved that he belonged at the top at UFC 324.
Pimblett (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was outlasted in a five-round war against Justin Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) for the interim lightweight title in Saturday’s main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pimblett was dropped twice early, but showed grit to rally and win Round 3. However, Gaethje’s experience and pressure was too much for the Brit to handle in his first UFC title fight.
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Cormier only sees upside from Pimblett’s performance.
“Very rarely does a guy elevate in a loss as much as I believe Paddy Pimblett will elevate in this loss,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “So many people wanted to call him a hype job. So many people wanted to pretend that this kid didn’t deserve to be here, that this kid was not a viable challenger for a world title. Tonight he proved that. All that, ‘He hasn’t fought anybody in the top five yet, none of the best guys,’ I don’t ever want to hear that again.
“Because what I saw was a kid that has a big future, that has a ton of ability to really challenge the best fighters in the world, and he will do that consistently for a really, really long time. I know Paddy was very disappointed, but he needs to keep his head up because I thought tonight he fought well, he represented himself, he represented his family, represented Liverpool very, very well inside the octagon. So, keep your head up Paddy Pimblett. That was title fight (No.) 1 of many that will come down the line.”
Gaethje was considered a big step up in competition for Pimblett, who’s previous three opponents were on losing skids. “The Baddy” earned his title shot after dominating Michael Chandler for a TKO finish at UFC 314.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier: Paddy Pimblett elevated despite loss at UFC 324
