UFC lightweight top contender made a bold claim about Paddy Pimblett. Hooker is confident that he would completely destroy UFC’s rising star in the octagon.
Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett is set to face Jared Gordon in a lightweight bout at UFC 282 this Saturday night. They will be featured as the co -main event. It will be his first time Paddy is featured on the main card at a UFC PPV event.
The 27-year-old Englishman became a big star following his third outing in the UFC back in July. He competed against Luigi Vendramini, Rodrigo Vargas, and Jordan Leavitt – all three ended via finishes, making him one of the most famous UFC athletes at the moment.
With his star power, many lightweight top contenders are already lining up for a chance to compete against Pimblett.
Pimblett has been accused in the past of picking and choosing his opponents – mostly due to the fact UFC seems uninterested in booking him against someone like Terrence McKinney and are instead mostly feeding him slow pitches.
Sean O’Malley’s career trajectory is likely to provide a map for what UFC is planning to do with Paddy.
During a recent talk with The Mac Life, the 32-year-old Dan Hooker admitted that he likes Pimblett but doesn’t think much of his skills
“I think he’s a great guy. I like his persona, I like everything. Very aggressive, puts on entertaining fights. But, let’s all be honest, he’s getting taken care of, you know what I mean? He’s not getting tough matchups just yet.” Hooker said.
Hooker added that if he were to face Pimblett, it wouldn’t be competitive.
“I like him, I don’t want to fight him and make him look silly, I don’t want to burst the bubble and that’s just being honest. I think that’s a bad move [to fight me]. Hand on my heart, I think I will do whatever I want to that kid.” Hooker said.
Dan Hooker returned to the lightweight division at UFC 281 in November. He had two consecutive losses before entering the octagon to face lightweight prospect Claudio Puelles.
Puelles is a kneebar specialist and gassed badly once he was unable to finish Hooker in a kneebar. Hooker ended up finishing him with body shots and proved that he can stick to the game plan for once.
Hooker would make for a great opponent for Paddy. For one, he’s not at his peak. Hooker also proved he’s not very good at sticking to the plan so someone like Paddy who favors grappling might have the leg up and exploit the gaps in Hooker’s game.
There’s also an argument to make that Paddy belongs in the featherweight division – not at lightweight and that he needs to get his diet in order.