UFC lightweight prospect Paddy Pimblett has even more belief in his grappling game having controlled former interim champion Tony Ferguson on the ground last December.
A year on from a controversial decision victory over Jared Gordon that appeared to dampen the hype surrounding his rise up the 155-pound ladder, Pimblett got relatively back on track in his return at UFC 296 last December.
On the pay-per-view main card, "The Baddy" shared the cage with Ferguson and extended the veteran's losing skid to seven across three largely one-sided rounds.
Having remained on the sidelines for the birth of his twins, Pimblett will look to pick up where he left off at the expense of Bobby Green on the UFC 304 pay-per-view card in Manchester, England, later this month.
In the lead-up, the pair have gone back and forth about the possibility of a submission finish. And when it comes to defending against a potential attempt come fight night, Pimblett isn't short on confidence...
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, Pimblett looked ahead to his first assignment of 2024 and spoke about the added experience he's carrying with him following his most recent outing.
Ferguson, a black belt in 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu under Eddie Bravo, struggled to mount any offense from his back against "The Baddy." And having been able to find nothing but success on the ground with him, Pimblett is returning to the cage more confident than ever in that part of his arsenal.
As I said after the fight, it was nice to actually get 15 minutes in there and know that even when I'm tired, I can take someone down who's one of the best jiu-jitsu practitioners in any division, 10th Planet black belt," Pimblett said. "And I can just sit on top of them and control them and throw strikes.
He didn't even get close to getting a sub on me at all. So I don't think Bobby can dream of getting a sub on me if Tony Ferguson can't," Pimblett concluded.
That growing self-belief no doubt explains Pimblett's grappling challenge to Green, which came after "King" teased the pursuit of a submission against "The Baddy."
Interestingly, while the Liverpudlian went the distance with Ferguson last December, Green actually found the submission against him five months prior, leaving "El Cucuy" unconscious in an arm-triangle choke at UFC 291.
Log in to post a comment.
