Michael Bisping says 'mental underestimation' may lead to a PPV debut loss for Paddy Pimblett - "Jared Gordon's no walk in the park"
Michael Bisping has warned Paddy Pimblett not to underestimate Jared Gordon mentally.
‘The Baddy’ is riding a massive wave of momentum after signing with the UFC as a top prospect and finishing his first three opponents. Pimblett is now getting a step up in competition at UFC 282 against a UFC veteran, Gordon, who has a promotional record of 7-4. During a video on his YouTube channel, UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping had this to say about the Liverpool native:
“I think it might be a tougher matchup than what Paddy thinks. I think Paddy potentially is underestimating him. Now when I say underestimating him, I don’t mean that he’s taking it easy, and he’s kicking back in training, and he’s not pushing himself to the limit, and all the rest of it. Paddy has got eyes on being the champion. Paddy is pushing himself to the absolute god d**n limit because the opponent right now isn’t Jared Gordon. The opponent is the mission.”
Bisping continued by saying:
“The opponent is this journey, this wave that he wants to ride towards being a UFC champion, a legend in the sport, a Hall of Famer, and, of course, retiring with millions and millions and millions of dollars in the bank… He’s not underestimating, or undertraining, should I say, but he might be mentally underestimating. He says he’s gonna knock him out in the first round. I don’t know about that… Jared Gordon’s no walk in the park.”
Pimblett has repeatedly said that he’s expecting a first-round finish against Gordon at UFC 282. Their bout was moved up to the co-main event after Jiri Prochazka was forced to withdraw from the main event, putting additional eyeballs on ‘The Baddy’ to perform on his first pay-per-view.
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Paddy Pimblett looking to steal the spotlight at #UFC282 next week! https://t.co/gJd6nPOkG1
Watch Michael Bisping discuss Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon below:
Michael Bisping labels Jared Gordon as Paddy Pimblett’s ‘toughest fight yet’
Paddy Pimblett’s first three UFC opponents were Luigi Vendramini, Kazula Vargas, and Jordan Leavitt. Despite struggling at times, ‘The Baddy’ finished every fight within the first two rounds. During the same YouTube video, Michael Bisping had this to say about Jared Gordon being Pimblett’s toughest opponent:
“Next week, I’m excited for UFC 282. Paddy the baddy, co-main event, taking on Jared Gordon. By far toughest fight yet. Not a ranked opponent. That would be too much, but a definite step up from Jordan Leavitt, from the other guys, Kazula Vargas, and, of course, Luigi Vendramini.”
Gordon has won four of his last five fights, including a unanimous decision win against Leonardo Santos in August. Meanwhile, Paddy Pimblett is looking for his third win of 2022 to complete the next step on his road to superstardom.