Paddy Pimblett takes issue with Justin Gaethje’s stance on the UFC title picture.
Gaethje (26-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) has threatened to retire if not awarded the next shot at UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria. “The Highlight” argued that he did the promotion a solid by defending his BMF title against Max Holloway in the UFC 300 headliner, then accepting short-notice replacement Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313.
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Pimblett (22-4 MMA, 7-0 UFC) doesn’t agree with Gaethje’s mindset.
“I don’t ever want to say a bad word about Justin Gaethje because he’s a legend, but he’s doing interviews lately being a proper b*tch, saying the UFC owe him and he deserves it and all that,” Pimblett said in an interview with Jamal Niaz.
“No one’s owed nothing, you fight for it. My last win, I beat someone in a better fashion, who was a higher-ranked opponent than he won in his last fight. I know he’s a legend and obviously he’s done a lot for the company and all that, but you can’t just demand a title shot.”
Pimblett, who’s most recent win came in a dominant TKO of former title challenger Michael Chandler at UFC 314, explains why he has a case to challenge Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC).
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“Then you’ve got Arman (Tsarukyan) who hasn’t fought in 18 months or something like that,” Pimblett continued. “So, me and Topuria have got the storyline built in, it’s all there. It’s half nice that he won the belt, even though I don’t like him, I’d rather him not be a two-division champ.
“It’s better for me because if Charles (Oliveira) would have won that, I definitely would have had to fight someone else first, but with Ilia having the belt, the storyline’s already set up. I don’t understand why it’s not announced and why it’s not already made and written in a contract, but we’ll see what happens over the next few weeks.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Paddy Pimblett goes off on Justin Gaethje for demanding UFC title shot
