Luke Rockhold isn’t a fan of the UFC’s decision to push Paddy Pimblett.
Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was booked against Justin Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) for the interim lightweight title in the UFC 324 headliner on Jan. 24 after champion Ilia Topuria announced that he’d be taking personal time off. Rockhold, a former UFC middleweight champ, doesn’t see value in an interim belt and is confused by Arman Tsarukyan‘s lack of involvement in the title picture.
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“I think they’re trying to do anything they can to put little Paddy into a title situation,” Rockhold told Submission Radio. “I’m annoyed with fighters that think that the interim title means anything. You see guys like Justin Gaethje, and he knows it. None of that sh*t really means much to him because he wants to be a real champion, but then you’ve got Paddy, who’s already talking about, ‘I’m going to be champion,’ this, that. It’s already there. That belt means something to him. Come on.
“They’re doing anything they can to get Paddy the best matchups to be a champion and bring that love back to the U.K. I don’t know. It’s not my favorite. Arman’s a beast. Look what he’s doing in grappling right now and how he’s just destroying these guys. It’s not easy and how he translates it to fighting, he’s a problem for everybody.”
Tsarukyan (23-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) booked his third bout of the month against Lance Palmer in freestyle wrestling at Real American Freestyle on Jan. 10 in Miami. He meets UFC middleweight Shara Magomedov in a grappling match under the Hype FC banner on Dec. 30.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC’s push for ‘little’ Paddy Pimblett irks former champ
