"Much like Conor McGregor"- Teddy Atlas talks about the UFC building Paddy Pimblett to be a future superstar
After seeing Paddy Pimblett's second successful fight in the UFC, Teddy Atlas believes the UFC has another Conor McGregor-level superstar on their hands.
Atlas broke down Pimblett's UFC London win over Kazula Vargas and the massive fan reaction to 'The Baddy' in his latest episode of The Fight podcast. And not only does he think Pimblett is doing a lot of things right, he thinks the UFC and president Dana White are handling his growth properly.
"It looks like Dana's eye is right, that [Pimblett] is a future star. Another McGregor, whatever you want to compare him to. Another superstar. And he's getting the treatment a superstar gets. They still gotta fight tough guys, but not quite ... it shows how smart Dana is."
Atlas went on to say that there's no easy fights in the UFC, but there are harder fights, and the UFC is being careful not to overwhelm Pimblett early.
"[Dana] knows what he's building up right now ... it's apparent that he's right. Look what [Pimblett] drew, look at the people in the place. He's got the 'it' factor ... He's got the charisma. He's got the look. He's smart. He knows what to say. He says the right things to promote himself. Much like Conor McGregor! A different form of him, but much like Conor McGregor."
Atlas was very complimentary towards Paddy Pimblett's skills as well, talking up his ground game. The one area Pimblett could improve on, according to Atlas, was how he keeps his head up too high. In a recent interview with Pimblett he even suggested sticking a wallet under his chin to keep it tucked in.
Watch Teddy Atlas discuss Paddy Pimblett's rising star in full below.
Dana White believes Paddy Pimblett is ready to headline a UFC event
For UFC London, Paddy Pimblett was placed three fights down the main card. But for his next fight, he could find himself headlining the main event.
That's according to Dana White, who had nothing but positive things to say about Pimblett after his latest win.
"I mean, his numbers say yes. His numbers say yes. He could headline a Fight Night."
Dana White says Paddy Pimblett validated himself as "the real deal" at #UFCLondon.
Full interview: bit.ly/3CWuWJt https://t.co/enioPWbFhQ
White compared Pimblett to another rising UFC star, Sean O'Malley.
"If you look at some of the guys that have come off the Contender Series and you watch the numbers and see what they do, you’ll see these guys either move right to pay-per-view or we headline them or put them in strong positions on Fight Nights. Paddy is definitely one of those guys that could be one."
But just like O'Malley, Pimblett has been very vocal about being unwilling to fight ranked opponents or main events without a pay increase.
🏾Cool as a cucumber. Will be loving the occasion. 👊🏾👊🏾. #PaddyPimblett #UFCLondon
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