Exclusive: Paddy Pimblett "took two Ls" last week with Ariel Helwani fiasco and Jared Gordon fight, says Terrance McKinney

Terrance McKinney thinks that Liverpool native Paddy Pimblett missed his chance to make an impression on US soil despite his victory over Jared Gordon at UFC 282. The way McKinney perceives it, Pimblett ended up losing some credibility in the process.

During UFC 282 fight week, Pimblett made news for his scathing comments about veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. 'The Baddy's attempt to demean Helwani's approach to covering sports and to term the Canadian-American journalist a "content creator" did not sit well with his peers.

Paddy Pimblett blasts “rodent” Ariel Helwani alongside Dana White on his recent podcast episode 👀🤯

🎥 Chatting Pony podcast https://t.co/dnXMzX9fbF

Helwani ruminated over Pimblett's comments in an hour-long rant with substantial evidence, which became the MMA community's hottest subject of conversation. Additionally, Paddy Pimblett's seemingly narrow unanimous decision victory over Jared Gordon didn't do him any favors in captivating the audience's attention.

In an exclusive interview with James Lynch of Sportskeeda MMA, surging lightweight contender Terrance McKinney alluded to the following reasons that led him to assume that Pimblett's fight week was less than ideal:

"Like I said, he [Pimblett] took two Ls [moral loss] this week. I love Ariel [Helwani]. He's always giving people the opportunity to get more limelight. So I have nothing but respect for him. For him to be acting like Ariel's the bad guy, it's not cool."

McKinney is slated to meet Ismael Bonfim at UFC 283 on January 21, 2023, the first pay-per-view event of 2023.

Catch Sportskeeda MMA's exclusive interview with Terrance McKinney below:

Terrance McKinney shares his thoughts on potential Paddy Pimblett fight

Terrance McKinney has expressed his desire to fight Paddy Pimblett several times in the past. According to 'T Wrecks,' a fight between the rising stars of the lightweight division has the potential to headline a UFC card.

Terrance McKinney sees a BIG fight with Paddy Pimblett in his future. 🤑

#UFCVegas59 | Read more: bit.ly/3QoXMYD https://t.co/UD9whrzG4K

McKinney brought up the idea again after Pimblett's controversial decision victory over Jared Gordon, saying that fans would want to see this happen.

The people have spoken twitter.com/DovySimuMMA/st…

Previewing the fight in the aforementioned exclusive interview, McKinney stated:

"Just domination. He won't be able to take me down. He won't be able to stand with me. No matter what, I think I'm going to have the strength [advantage], the scramble edge.... he might be a good grappler, but he won't be able to scramble with me because of the years of wrestling."

McKinney also went on to offer a prediction for the potential fight:

"No matter what, we'll get him out of there in the first round. For the fans, I would not wrestle, but I'll look to put him out unconcious."

McKinney's resume speaks volumes about his propensity to end fights decisively. The lightweight prospect has 13 finishes in 17 pro-MMA fights, five of which have come by way of knockout. The 28-year-old (3-1 in UFC) returned to winning ways this past August with a quick first-round submission victory over Erick Gonzalez.