"Surprised, a little insulted, but now I'm very excited" - Jordan Leavitt shares thoughts ahead of huge Paddy Pimblett matchup
UFC lightweight contender Jordan Leavitt recently expressed his thoughts ahead of his upcoming match against Paddy Pimblett. The two are set to lock horns against each other at the upcoming UFC Fight Night event in London.
In a recent interview with MiddleEasy, Leavitt admitted that he was surprised to be booked against Paddy Pimblett following his victory over Troy Ogden at UFC Vegas 51. 'The Monkey King' admitted that he is too strong for Pimblett. He stated that the matchup would've made sense for him had he lost to Ogden in his last fight.
Speaking about his feelings at being signed up against the Liverpool native for his upcoming fight, Leavitt said:
"Definitely didn't think I was going to get that fight. I thought I had to lose against Troy Odgen to fight Paddy. I thought if I lost I had that fight in the bag. So, I kind of...bittersweet."
He added:
"I win my fight but I'm like, "Oh, I'll never fight Paddy. I'm too good to fight Paddy now". But you know newsflash!...So, I got the Paddy fight and I got the win bonus on a few months span. So surprised, a little insulted but now I'm very excited."
Further into the interview, 'Monkey King' also weighed their strengths and weaknesses, predicting an "awkward, dragged-out, strange decision win."
Speaking about how the fight will unfold, Leavitt said:
"I think it's going to be something. Like, two grappling speacialists. He has you know okay offense but horrible at closing distance. I have great defense [but] horrible at closing distance. I think it's going to a very... we're gonna be playing touch butt for 15 minutes I think. If I get to the ground, I'll submit him but I'm expecting a very awkward, dragged-out, strange decision win."
You can check out Jordan Leavitt's full interview with MiddleEasy below:
Paddy Pimblett and Jordan Leavitt are scheduled to face each other at the UFC Fight Night event in London on 23 July 2022 at the O2 Arena.
Paddy Pimblett and Jordan Leavitt are both new to the UFC roster. Hence, it will be interesting to see who will be dominating the fight to climb up the ranking ladder.
Paddy Pimblett reveals fight that inspired him to start training in MMA
'The Baddy' recently tweeted about how the fight between Diego Sanchez and Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 9 finale hooked him to MMA. He divulged how it inspired him to train in the sport.
Paddy Pimblett said:
"The fight what got me! This fight got me hooked on mma and I started training a few months later, as they say the rest is history"
twitter.com/ufc/status/153…
The fight what got me! This fight got me hooked on mma and I started training a few months later, as they say the rest is history 😎 twitter.com/ufc/status/153…
Pimblett is a rising star in the UFC. The fighter's stardom is often compared to that of UFC posterboy Conor McGregor during the Irishstar's early career.
With a pro record of 18-3-0, the Liverpool native is definitely someone to look out for in the future of the UFC's lightweight division.