UFC lightweight contender Jared Gordon revealed what Dana White had a phone conversation with him following UFC 282.
Jared Gordon took on UFC rising star Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett at UFC 282. They competed in the co-main event. Pimblett was easily the most marketable man on the card. However, the result of the match exposed Pimblett’s skill level.
Paddy Pimblett was declared the winner via unanimous decision. Many fans were upset with this result. Gordon was dominating the action and landed more strikes to the Englishman. He even scored several successful takedowns and controlled the action.
Responding to fans’ complaints and dissatisfaction, White decided to slam Gordon during UFC 282 post-fight press conference.
“Gordon had a horrible game plan going into that third round. You think you won the first two rounds with the judges? How do you know that? Why go in there and throw away the third round and not go in and fight your ass off and try to win.” White said.
Gordon revealed he talked to White after the match, during a talk with Michael Bisping and Anthony Smith on their podcast
“I spoke to Dana after , and he was like, ‘Look, you literally came out with the best. Coming off of a loss, this is the best scenario that could have happened,’ and I think he’s right. It’s only been four days, so I have yet to see the silver lining, but I’m sure it’ll be made apparent.” Gordon said.
It was a masterful class from White in toeing the line – on one hand calming down Gordon and on another not undermining the treasure trove that is Paddy Pimblett’s charisma.
Pimblett is likely to have to re-examine his approach to dieting and MMA in the fall out from the incident. Even Sean O’Malley doubted his performance – despite himself having a questionable decision win over Yan earlier this year.