Daniel Cormier explains why he believes Tom Aspinall could be a bigger star than Paddy Pimblett
Paddy Pimblett defeated Luigi Vendramini via first-round KO in his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till. Heavyweight prospect Tom Aspinall defeated Sergey Spivak via first-round TKO in the co-main event of the night.
Daniel Cormier believes Tom Aspinall could be a bigger star than Paddy Pimblett. According to DC, there are very few lighter weight athletes like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, who can draw people's attention. Cormier believes people are generally more intrigued by heavier fighters than smaller ones. Speaking of Paddy Pimblett, Daniel Cormier recently told Ryan Clark on ESPN MMA:
"I kind of left the apex that day thinking about Tom Aspinall. I was thinking about Tom Aspinall. I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I'm a big guy that likes the big guy. Because guess what, the vast majority of people like the big guy. There's very few people, there's very few Khabibs, there's very few Conor McGregors. That if Conor McGregor, Khabib and I walk into a campus, everybody is gonna be intrigued by those two small guys. Generally you stick Tom Aspinall and you put him and Paddy Pimblett walking around ESPN, the people in that place are gonna turn around and look at Tom Aspinall and go, 'Wow, who's that?' Because he is a heavyweight. And what he did to Sergey Spivak was insane."
Paddy Pimblett is expected to be the UFC's next big star
Before making his UFC debut, Paddy Pimblett was a lightweight champion at the feeder promotion Cage Warriors. This, along with his interesting persona, has led many to compare him to the UFC's biggest star Conor McGregor.
Most impressive debut since ____? 🤔
[ @PaddyTheBaddy | @DC_MMA | @Bisping | @Jon_Anik ] https://t.co/jk71tVxnr5
However, it might be too soon to compare Paddy Pimblett with Conor McGregor for a variety of reasons. Pimblett boasts a 17-3 record and is not a knockout artist like 'The Notorious'. While he scored a TKO victory in his UFC debut, 'Paddy the Baddy' is best known for his grappling.
Paddy Pimblett also lost his Cage Warriors featherweight strap before signing with the UFC, unlike Conor McGregor, who joined as a double champ.