Paddy Pimblett clarifies his comments about Khabib Nurmagomedov, says 'The Eagle' is the lightweight GOAT
New UFC recruit Paddy Pimblett recently questioned Khabib Nurmagomedov's involvement in the GOAT (greatest of all time) debate.
According to Pimblett, Jon Jones clearly deserves the title instead of Khabib, who he claims has beaten only three 'decent' opponents in his UFC career.
Paddy Pimblett has now provided further clarification on his comments in a recent interview with MiddleEasy's James Lynch.
While Pimblett accepts Khabib Nurmagomedov as the best ever at 155 pounds, he doesn't consider 'The Eagle' to be in general GOAT contention. Asked about his recent comments on the former UFC lightweight king, Paddy Pimblett told James Lynch:
"To be honest, I looked at his record and he's also beat Edson Barboza. Even though Edson Barboza is now 145-er. When people mention Michael Johnson i laugh at them because I would beat Michael Johnson tomorrow. Who else did he beat? Al Iaquinta is an okay win but when it's on 24 hours notice it's a little bit- Know what I mean? I think Khabib's the 155 GOAT. I'm not saying he's not the 155 GOAT. But he is not the greatest of all time."
Catch Paddy Pimblett's full interview with MiddleEasy below:
Paddy Pimblett names the fighter who beats Khabib Nurmagomedov in his GOAT list
According to Paddy Pimblett, the MMA GOAT list consists of Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko, in that order.
'Paddy the Baddy' also revealed that he received some backlash from Khabib fans after naming Emelianenko on the list instead of the Dagestani superstar.
According to Paddy Pimblett, Fedor Emelianenko is not respected enough for beating up some of the best fighters in their prime. Regarding 'The Last Emperor' being undermined by new MMA fans, Pimblett told James Lynch:
"Like I had a few Khabib nuthuggers on me case when I mentioned Fedor (Emelianenko). Know what I mean? Like 'How can you mention Fedor? What about Khabib?' And then I said, he beat (Mirko) Cro Cop, he beat Big Nog (Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira) twice. Know what I mean? When they were at their best. And who else did he beat? People like Mark Coleman. And knocked Tim Sylvia out and (Andrei) Arlovski in spectacular fashion, former UFC champions. People don't give Fedor the respect he deserves. He was beating juiceheads up, he was beating steroid abusers up. People that were much bigger than him because he was a small heavyweight. I just don't think he gets the respect he deserves."