Paul Felder doesn’t think Paddy Pimblett can already challenge ranked righters in his division. For the UFC color commentator, the Briton’s last bout against Tony Ferguson proved it.
Pimblett defeated Ferguson at UFC 296 this month. However, many were not impressed with the young fighter, who was not able to make a finish and instead won via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Many fans and fellow fighters expressed disappointment in the Briton, including Daniel Cormier, who expected a great fight from “The Baddy.” As the commentator noted, Pimblett made claims that he made improvements, only to show the same level of performance during his last bout.
Echoing Cormier’s comment about the matter is Felder, who pointed out how Pimblett failed to finish Ferguson, who’s much older and practically no longer in his prime.
“Can Paddy beat anyone in the top 15?” Felder said in an interview on Round-Up on YouTube. “I will start with this: of course, he can. We know that it’s MMA, anything can happen,” Felder said. “But if we were gonna sit here and make bets, and if I had to predict, no, I really don’t think so. He struggled to get a Tony out of there who looked the worst he’s ever looked in his career.”
“He was able to hurt Tony a little bit, but he really should have been able to put him away, man,” Felder continued. “Fifteen through 10, okay, Drew Dober, Bobby Green (Renato) Moicano, Benoît Saint-Denis, Rafael dos Anjos, and Jalin Turner.”
Despite this, the British fighter has received callouts after his recent victory, including one from Matt Frevola, who’s always been vocal about fighting Pimblett. Rafael dos Anjos, in spite of having a fight already booked, also expressed interest in fighting Pimblett. The Baddy, on the other hand, is open to accepting the challenges, especially if it would be in UFC’s rumored event in mid-2024 in Manchester.
