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Paddy Pimblett looking for Gaethje scalp as he aims for world title shot with interim fight
21/01/2026
UFC324
21/01/2026
UFC324
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00:00Well, Paddy, you know, people said you'd never be fighting for a UFC world title,
00:11and even though it is interim, you have proven those people wrong and will be fighting for that
00:14belt on Saturday. Now it's finally here. How does the occasion feel to you? Does it feel
00:19extra special, or is it just another fight that you've got to get through?
00:22No, it's just another fight. Having put it on a pedestal or not, I'm going to come out there
00:28like every other fight and get the win, get the finish, hopefully.
00:32You and Justin have been fairly respectful in the build-up to this, but he did an interview
00:35on Monday where he said he specifically wants to beat the shit out of you and specifically
00:39wants to hurt you in the cage. Curious if you'd heard those comments and what you make of them.
00:43Yeah, I'd have seen an even funnier one yesterday, saying he wants to make me piss my pants.
00:48That one made me laugh, because he done it into someone in his first ever fight, but that's
00:55our job, you know what I mean? We're in here to hurt each other.
00:58You know what I mean? We're not having a pillow fight. We're having a fight, and I know I'm
01:04going to hurt him, and I know I am. So if he wants to try and hurt me, he can. That's
01:09what we're here for. That's the name of the game.
01:13When you look at Justin, we spoke about it before last week when you were here, but when
01:17you look at him and where he's at in his career now, what exactly are you expecting
01:21from him style-wise, right? Like this is, he says, if he loses to you, he's probably retiring,
01:25right? So there's more weight on your shoulders for thinking about that. Do you expect him
01:28to be more cautious than ever or more aggressive than ever because it's his last roll of the
01:32dice?
01:33It's a very good question. He could be either or. He did look a bit cautious in the first
01:41round of the physio fight, but then second and third, he wasn't. He was more aggressive
01:46like his usual self. So just going to have to see how the fight plays out. Obviously,
01:52Trevor Whitman's a fantastic coach. He's going to have a game plan, but I know my game plan
01:57will be better. A man will work better, and I know that I'm going to be able to put my
02:05game plan to good effect, and I'll beat him up. I just don't see where he can beat me.
02:10Obviously, the belt is the goal, but to fight against someone like Justin Gaethje, right?
02:15You're a fan. Everyone loves Justin Gaethje. How cool is it to potentially have his name
02:20on your resume when this is all said and done? You can look back on that.
02:23Yeah, it's going to be nice to have another legend's name on my resume. It's an honour to
02:26share the octagon with him. He's someone I've been watching for years and years. He's had
02:32some of the best fights I've ever watched in the UFC, but that's what we're in this game
02:38for. The people who you watch, you know, you want to eventually fight them and beat
02:42them, so that's what I'm going to do on Saturday night.
02:45We had a nice little update from the champion. He did support you the other day. He said that
02:48he could come back in April to June, that sort of period. Does that work for you?
02:52I'm not fighting in April, like. I'm going on Aldi next month, lad, so he can wait till
02:59the end of June, start of July. He's not rushing me back after sitting out for a year, lad.
03:04Cheeky bastard.
03:05What was it like training through the holidays, you know, with young kids back at home?
03:11It was rough. Never fighting in January ever again. Ever again. Absolutely ruined my Christmas
03:19and my birthday because my birthday is 3rd of January. It ruined it in a big way, but
03:27got to get on with it, you know what I mean? It's an honour to be the main event of the first
03:32Paramount card. It shows how much the UFC trusts me and, you know, me and Justin Opper
03:35are on a good fight, and it's a world title fight. I've been saying them for 16 years now
03:41for this to happen, and it's finally, yeah.
03:44To kind of go off what Oscar said about, you know, fighting another legend, Dustin Poirier
03:49coins this term when he beat Eddie, Justin, and Chandler. He said it was the violence triangle.
03:55Obviously, Dustin's retired, but if you add Justin's name to Tony and Michael Chandler, is
04:01that kind of your own little violence triangle?
04:03Yeah, you could say that. Yeah, you could. That's a very good shout. I've got a couple
04:11of legends, veterans on my resume now. But it'll get like, oh, he only beat him because he was
04:20old, you know what I mean? Like it always does. That's what happens. Everyone's saying he's going
04:24to knock me out now, but in a couple of days when I win, everyone will be like, oh, he only
04:29beats him because he's 37. He's retiring. So, it's one of them.
04:34Dustin also said, you know, when he got the call to fight Justin at this point, like everyone
04:38knows what Justin's going to do. It's always just kind of violence in there that you get
04:42a little bit of goosebumps because you know you're signing up for a car crash. So, I guess,
04:46what was it like when you did get Justin Gaethje's name? Because, you know, a lot of people
04:50win or lose are not quite physically the same after their fights.
04:55He won't be physically the same after this fight. I will. I'll be exactly the same.
05:02I'm going to put a beat down on him like he's never received. And I can promise you that.
05:08But, it was just another fight to me. When a contract with a name one gets sent to me,
05:13I sign it. I don't turn down. No fight. I step up and I fight the person whose name's
05:19on a contract. I thought I was going to fight Justin in October in Abu Dhabi, but I think
05:24he turned it down. And now there's a belt on the line. He's taking the fight. So, it's
05:29nice to actually fight someone that I thought I was going to fight a while back.
05:34And on the countdown, your coach said that this might be the best you've ever looked
05:37in camp going all the way back to the beginning. What was different about preparation now compared
05:43to past camp?
05:44This is the best I've ever been in camp. Definitely. We've had a great camp. It's very
05:50cliche to say, but I am in the best shape of my life. I've got the least amount of weight
05:55to cut that I've had in years. And I just feel fantastic. I don't see how anybody could beat
06:03me. Never mind just engaging.
06:05And then just last one for me. Also, since your last fight, Ronda Rousey did that panel
06:09and she named you as her favorite UFC fighter currently because of the way you carry yourself
06:13and promote your fights, but also fight. So, kind of out of left field for a lot of people.
06:18So, I guess, what was it like hearing those comments from arguably one of the biggest superstars
06:22the sport's ever seen?
06:23Yeah, she's one of the biggest MMA superstars of all time and the biggest female superstar.
06:28So, to have them sort of applauded off someone like that is always a great feeling to hear
06:34and see.
06:36Adi?
06:37What's that now?
06:38Assuming you win the belt on Saturday and knowing that you've called it the real title,
06:42what type of champion do you want to be?
06:45Obviously, I want to defend it. I want to defend the belt multiple times. People keep making
06:50a meal at me saying I'll go up to 170. I'm not saying I'll go straight up to 170. I've always
06:56said you need to defend your belt at least three times. So, that's what I'd like to do.
07:01I'd like to defend my belt and then eventually when I get a bit older, because I'm getting
07:06there, and a bit bigger, then I'll go to 170.
07:10And when you think about being champion, is there someone throughout history who you'd
07:14kind of like to emulate and potentially follow in their footsteps?
07:17No, not really. I don't have one of them. I'm my own man.
07:23At this present moment, do you care about the fact that Liverpool are currently beating
07:27Marseille 1-0?
07:27Yeah, we're winning 1-0, aren't we? Just been watching it then on Blaise's phone.
07:32Hopefully, we can keep winning, lad. I'm in the top eight of the Champions League.
07:35Best of luck.
07:36Thanks, man, Pella.
07:37Hey, Paddy, right here. Paddy, you know, very few fighters can say that they command popularity
07:44just like worldwide like you. You know it's a big deal when you fight in Europe. Obviously,
07:50that popularity has carried over into America. If you had to pick a place, where would you
07:55want to fight?
07:56Anfield. Easiest question ever. Liverpool Stadium in Liverpool. If I could pick one place
08:03to fight, that's exactly where it would be.
08:04And then secondly, I think one of the biggest moments from your career, obviously, that
08:10night in London, you win, Mali wins, and it's wild scenes. If you win the title on Saturday,
08:16do you think you guys will recreate such a celebration, just being together as a team
08:22for so long?
08:23Well, Mali's not coming. Mali's boxing next month, so that'll be impossible. But I'll celebrate
08:30very well with my team. Don't worry about that.
08:32And just for the record, you and Armin Sarukian, whether it be a fight or an eating contest,
08:40do you take the victory?
08:41Yeah, easy. Both of them.
08:46Paddy, you've said many times that Scousers don't get knocked out. What makes Scousers so
08:51special?
08:52We're just a special breed of human, lad. It's just the way we are. We're built differences,
08:58as they say. Thanks.
09:01Paddy, I know you said there's a lot of doubt around you, but you opened this fight as the
09:05betting favourite, and a lot of people thought that was because maybe they would put the money
09:09on Justin and the odds would flip, but it stayed that way the entire time in the fight
09:13week here. So do you feel like maybe there is more people believing in you than you actually
09:18made me think?
09:19Yeah, there might be, because the odds haven't changed. I didn't think I'd stay favourite.
09:24I thought the odds would flip. I think that's what happened on a four. Bobby Green, he opened
09:28as the favourite, and it ended up being a pick when we went into it. But, yeah, that just
09:36shows the smart people have picked me, though, doesn't it? The people who are actually putting
09:39money on it. All the old guard, the fighters, picking Justin. Because they don't like it when
09:46the next generation comes in and starts beating the old guard. So all the lightweights that
09:52I see who are now retired or on the way out are all picking Justin to win. But that's
09:57just because it makes them look good if Justin wins when I'm going to beat them worse than
10:02they did, or some of them got beat by him.
10:05This doesn't feel like it's part of your trajectory at all, but people are now speculating on who
10:10could fight Conor McGregor after they ruled out Michael Chandler, and obviously you just
10:14beat Michael Chandler. Is that a fight that would appeal to you at all if it came around,
10:18even though it doesn't really make sense from where you're heading right now?
10:20It doesn't make sense, but you'd be an idiot to say no to fighting Conor McGregor, wouldn't
10:25you? Let's be honest. Everyone knows that. That's the biggest money fight that you can
10:29get in this sport.
10:32Business must be very good for you right now, right? It feels like no matter how this fight
10:35goes, you have a lot of different directions you can go. Are you seeing a lot of storylines
10:39and potential fights for you over the next couple of years right now?
10:42Yeah, of course. There's always fights out there for me. Everyone underestimates me and
10:46overlooks me, so people think that they can beat me until they get in the octagon with
10:51me. So there's always going to be fights there for me. So I'm just waiting, but I want to
10:58win this title, and then I'm going to beat Zillia.
11:02Dana White said very famously earlier in your UFC career, like questioning your discipline
11:05and if you could keep this lifestyle to get to this point. Talking about your camp and
11:10all the sacrifices you made and where the weight is at, is that something you think should
11:14now be proven to everyone that your discipline should not be questioned at any point?
11:19No, people can talk. I don't mind. People can say what they want. They don't see the
11:24hard work and the dedication and the sacrifice. People like to talk from behind their phones
11:30on social media, and I let them. Do you need to stay disciplined on Friday after the weigh-in
11:36until after the fight? I'll still be getting my ice cream and my milkshake on Friday night,
11:43like I always do. That's just standard. Thanks, Paddy.
11:48Paddy, you started training when you were 15. I wanted to ask, what was in your mind back then?
11:54Did you ever think you'll get this close to the belt and potentially become champion in a couple of
11:59days? Yeah, of course. That's why I started training. I wanted to be a UFC world champion.
12:04I walked in the gym and said that I was going to be a UFC world champion when I was 15 and I got
12:09laughed at, obviously, but look where I am now.
12:13Gotcha. If you get the win on Saturday, who would you want to see first in the cage?
12:19Fight with Arman or fight with Ilya?
12:21Obviously, you want to become undisputed champ of the world. I want to fight Ilya and then I'll beat Arman.
12:26Gotcha. Thank you, Paddy.
12:31Did you expect to maybe headline a fight night before headlining a numbered event?
12:39No. I've never fought on a fight night apart from the London ones. I've only ever really been on
12:45pay-per-views. The only fight night cards I've fought on have been on the ones in London.
12:50And I haven't fought on one of them since 2022.
12:55So you expected your first main event would be on a big pay-per-view or numbered event?
13:02Yeah, 100%. I knew for a fact it would. I haven't fought on a fight night since 2022 and that was
13:07when it was in London. Ever since then, I've only ever been on pay-per-views. The UFC aren't stupid.
13:12And finally for me, did you see rumours of Justin Gaethje having staff on his neck?
13:19Yeah, I've seen it. It's one of them. What are we meant to do? You know what I mean?
13:26He's got staff, lad. He's got staff. It doesn't matter if he's got staff or not. I'm still going
13:31to smash his head in. But there's lads in our gym who fought with staff, lad, and knock
13:37people out on the first round. So it doesn't affect you that bad. But that'll be another
13:42excuse for everyone when I win. That'll be like, oh, just engage your staff as well.
13:47You know what I mean? So it's one of them. I get on with it. I'm going to be turning up
13:51in the cage. And all that matters is if I turn up, nobody beats me.
14:03How quickly do you want to turn around for a unification fight?
14:07Mid-year. As I said, end of June, early July will be perfect.
14:12And what's more likely, paddy by KO or paddy by sub?
14:15Well, I keep envisioning a KO. But more likely, it's probably paddy by sub, isn't it?
14:24And 10 minutes after this fight, what do you want to hear people saying outside the arena?
14:29I know they'll all be singing out paddy by body. I know that for a fact.
14:38Hey, paddy. When you, or if, or when you win on Saturday night and you get on the microphone
14:42with Joe Rogan, what's your message to Ilya Toporia?
14:46Step up. You know what I mean? Let's see you come back.
14:49If he's not going to fight by June. We said he's going to fight, though.
14:51So, but if he's not going to fight by June, July 8th,
14:54then I'll defend against Arman or Max or Charles.
14:57But it's looking like it's going to be El Chirizo.
15:04That fella's been waiting for the ages there, you know.
15:06I'm going to just answer this question.
15:08Go ahead, lad.
15:10Thanks, Paddy.
15:10So, one question from me.
15:12You're always full of smiles when you talk about your twin daughters.
15:16How special is it to achieve your dreams and tell them that story when they're older one day?
15:20Yeah, it will. It'll be very special because ever since I had them,
15:25my life's changed. Everything's been different.
15:28It's switched so unimely mentally and it's made me a better fighter.
15:32So, without them, I probably wouldn't be in this situation right now.
15:37Best of luck. Thank you.
15:38Thanks for having me.
15:40Thanks for having me.
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