UK MMA fans could have been forgiven for thinking that Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett had made good on his promise to “blow the roof off the gaff” a month early when Storm Eunice shredded the 02 Arena roof in February. Thankfully, the venue was able to reopen shortly afterwards which means a UFC event will be held on British soil on Saturday, for the first time in three years.

It also means that Pimblett, the “new cash cow”, will have a chance to test the repair work as he enters the Octagon for his second fight in the UFC and 20,000 people go wild to his already iconic walkout tune. There’s going to be a house party in the 02 on Saturday, complete with blonde wigs and Scouse Power.

The former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion has taken the UFC by storm since making his debut against Luigi Vendramini in September 2021. That fight, a first round TKO stoppage for Pimblett, has amassed 1.4 million views on YouTube since the UFC uploaded it as a free fight offering SIX DAYS AGO. That’s over double the amount that have viewed a contest between top bantamweight contenders TJ Dillashaw and Corey Sandhagen that was uploaded a day earlier.

Before his latest Instagram account was suspended (lizards) his 920,000 followers tripled the 295k that Light-Heavyweight Champion Glover Teixeira has amassed on the app. During the Usman vs. Covington 2 card at Madison Square Garden, it was Pimblett being highlighted on the arena’s main screens that brought the biggest reaction of the night amongst the watching fighters and celebrities.

There isn’t a fighter on the UFC roster that has garnered this level of attention from one fight since the days of Conor McGregor and it’s easy to draw comparisons to them both, as loudmouth working class lads who made their names in Cage Warriors.

Pimblett is also currently managed by Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan, who originally guided a young McGregor to add to the parallels between the pair.

“The Baddy” is no stranger to this level of hype though, having regularly helped the UK promotion sell out the 11,000 capacity M&S Bank Arena (previously known as the Echo Arena) in his home city of Liverpool meaning he won’t be fazed by the occasion on Saturday nor by the comparisons to the UFC’s biggest superstar.

However, to simply call Paddy “the new McGregor” does a disservice to the skill and the incredibly wise head that the 27-year-old posseses.

Those whose only knowledge of Pimblett’s fighting ability is his debut against Vendramini, a wild brawl in a telephone booth that showed the Scouser’s ability to take a shot and give them out in equal measure, may assume that he’s a primarily a striker with knockout capability as he showcased a range of kicks and fast hands in taking out the Brazilian.

Yet, it’s actually Pimblett’s grappling expertise that first drew Dana White and the UFCs attention to a young fighter from Liverpool. Of his 17 professional victories, 7 have come via submission, with Paddy having a particular fondness for a rear-naked choke and a triangle armbar both of which are a hallmark of Next Generation MMA and Head Coach Paul Rimmer.

The Liverpool lad isn’t a flash in the pan that’s capitalised on some buzz and jumped headfirst into the UFC either. He’s actually turned down the opportunity to sign for the promotion on two separate occasions in an attempt to further round out his skills before stepping up to MMA’s premier stage.

Pimblett isn’t like other hot young prospects such as Sean O’Malley, Edmen Shahbazyan or Khamzat Chimaev who entered the Octagon with an unbeaten record. There’s actually 3 defeats on his record courtesy of Cameron Else, Nad Narimani and Soren Bak but that also means he has vastly more experience than most who join the UFC in their twenties.

There’s also been some similarities being hastily drawn between Paddy and Colby Covington when discussing “characters” in MMA and whether they do more harm than good to the integrity of the sport and such.

Let’s clear something up. The obnoxious, race-baiting, garishly suited “Chaos” Colby that is regularly pictured with hired swimwear models is a caricature Covington created to stop the UFC from cutting him from the roster.

Paddy Pimblett is not a caricature. He’s as real as it gets.

Sure, he’s a mouthy cunt that gets into foul-mouthed disputes with trolls on social media and will absolutely let you know how good he is at fighting, but that’s what most working class lads in England are like especially those of us from the North of England. It’s why, his ability aside, Pimblett has such a large and loyal following. We identify with him because he is one of us.

He doesn’t flex jewellery or cars like someone in his position could do. Instead, he spends most of his time talking about food on his podcast or going the match to watch his local team.

Seriously, watch his interview with Boro’s own Hardwick brothers, it’s basically an hour of parmo chat (UTB). He refers to insignificant things like drinking diet Pepsi or eating Custard Creams as “sex offender behaviour” and he hates the Tories. That’s life as a 20 something in a Northern town.

While the pre-fight hype will circle round his altercation with Ilia Topuria and many, including Pimblett who told BT Sport that opponent Rodrigo Vargas will “shit his undies”, are expecting a walkover in his contest on Saturday night the Scouser still has to deliver on the night against a southpaw opponent that beat Chinese starlet Rong Zhu in his last outing.

If things go to plan, expect “The Baddy” to rock the microphone afterwards to call out Mark Zuckerberg for being a lizard, produce some more viral sound bytes and further skyrocket his name value within the UFC. It may even lead to a sanctioned meeting with Topuria, if the Georgian can get past Wolverhampton’s Jai Herbert.

I hope the 02 Arena is ready. There’s another storm coming and it’s name is Paddy Pimblett.

Photo Credits: Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC, Cage Warriors