Paddy Pimblett may want another crack at Justin Gaethje. Gaethje isn’t thinking about him at all.
Pimblett looked sharp at UFC 329, submitting Benoit Saint Denis in a hurry in Saturday’s co-main event, bouncing back from the interim lightweight title loss he suffered against Gaethje in January. Gaethje went on to shock Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 and take the belt. Ask him if a rematch is written in the stars and the answer is immediate.
Destined for each other, like, to fight again? No. No, no, no,” Gaethje said on The Pat McAfee Show.
What interests the champion more is the ripple effect of his upset. He rattled off names of fighters who took something from that night.
I think it’s crazy what my story has done for so many people. Rafael Fiziev, a guy I fought two times, says a very similar thing that I kind of rejuvenated him when I won that fight. Him losing two times to me, having been in there with me two times kind of rejuvenated him.
Even a heavyweight boxing star was watching.
Anthony Joshua, I just saw him talking about how you can never forget how real fighting is, and how dangerous it is and never becoming too full of yourself. He learned that from that lesson. It’s pretty cool how across the board, all athletes respect our sport because it’s so humbling, so primal. It’s one-on-one.
Gaethje doesn’t plan to fight again this year. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently said the champ’s next defense will come against someone he’s never faced, ruling out rematches with Pimblett, Topuria, Charles Oliveira, and Max Holloway.
