Justin Gaethje captured the undisputed UFC lightweight championship at UFC White House, stopping Ilia Topuria at the end of Round 4. The victory directly impacted Paddy Pimblett, who had previously lost a highly competitive interim title bout to Gaethje via unanimous decision at UFC 324 in January. Gaethje’s subsequent championship win has provided the Liverpool native with renewed professional motivation.
“Weird to say, but Monday morning watching that, came in more motivated,” Pimblett stated in a recent video blog. “I went five rounds with Gaethje and was pushing the pace to the very end. I didn’t quit. I kept coming forward trying to finish the fight. And I think I won 3 and 5, so he beat me 3-2. One of the judges agreed.”
Pimblett also reflected on the specifics of their January encounter, noting that he felt the bout was significantly affected by illegal tactics. He claimed that eye gouges, low blows, and simulated low blows altered the trajectory of the contest, though he acknowledged the need to move past the result to focus on his future.
Before Pimblett can realistically pursue a championship rematch against Gaethje, he must first defeat Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329 on July 11 in Las Vegas. Saint Denis enters the matchup on a four-fight winning streak, with all of those victories coming via knockout or submission. Despite the Frenchman’s aggressive wrestling style, Pimblett expressed confidence in his own ground game.
“We know BSD’s going to try and take me down,” Pimblett stated. “We don’t know he’s going to try and take me down, but we try to be ready for all things. BSD takes most people down. I think he might be a little bit afraid to take me down because he knows I’ll submit him on the ground. Once I hit him with a few punches, a few kicks, knees, elbows, he’s going to revert back to default settings and them default settings for him are shooting takedowns.”
Even with a victory at UFC 329, Pimblett recognizes he is not alone in the title picture. Division contenders Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira remain firmly in the mix, alongside the potential for Topuria to request an immediate rematch. Pimblett indicated that Tsarukyan likely retains the rightful number-one contender status for the immediate future.
