Paddy Pimblett can be about to be a lightweight title shot after his face on UFC 317.
'The Baddy' entered the cage after Saturday evening's main event where Pimblett shared a heated exchange with Ilia Topuria.
Although the star is unbeaten in the Octagon, some believe that this should not be the case after the controversial victory of Pimblett over Jared Gordon.
For fans who have followed the polarizing character since he arrived in the UFC, they will remember that there is still a victory over his record that was heavily discussed.
In 2016, Pimblett beat a current UFC fan favorite, in which many believed that the score cards were incorrect.
Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Paddy Pimblett admits that he would have lost from Julian Erosa under the new score criteria
At Cage Warriors: Unplugged 1 In November 2016, Paddy Pimblett put his featherweight title on the line for the first time.
The new champion, who won the belt two months earlier, would be against Julian Erosa, who had previously fought twice in the UFC after having had season 22 of 'The Ultimate Fighter'.
Pimblett and Erosa went the full five rounds before all three judges scored the fight in favor of the defending champion, who was heavily criticized at the time.
Although 'The Baddy' was able to pick up the control time, he could not threaten his opponent on the floor, while Erosa landed a lot of damage to the feet.
During his recent performance on Eric Nicksick's Vers US Podcast, Pimblett was asked if he had kept in touch with one of his previous opponents.
The lightweight star reacted by saying that he is not only a big fan of looking at Erosa fight, he believes that his former enemy would have lifted his hand if the jury members use the current score criteria that prioritize damage.
“Julian's is cool. I always say now, if the jury system was the way it is now, Julian would have won that fight because of the way they have changed the scoring system. I have gassed badly in that fight. The first three rounds do I just struggle – you know what I mean?
“I came out and tried to beat and he caught me with better photos. At one point he dropped me and I grabbed his legs where now, with the new jury system where he dropped, he would probably have won the round because of the damage, but they were not happy enough for me yet.”
Paddy Pimblett concludes rumors that he is fighting against Justin Gaethje on UFC 319
UFC Middleweight Champion Dric Du Plessis let fans talk when he claimed that Paddy Pimblett would fight against Justin Gaethje in the Co-Main event of UFC 319.
For many, the news came as a surprise, with 'The Baddy' apparently already in line to be the next lightweight title -Uitdager.
In a post on X Pimblett denied that he was booked to compete on UFC 319, where he refers to the idea that he is fighting against a top candidate such as Gaethje when his resort with Ilia Topuria is already on the horizon.
You are angry if you think I am fighting in August 🤣🤣
– Paddy Pimblett (@paddythebaddy) July 1, 2025
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Pimblett said during his podcast performance that he is happy to fight Topuria when the UFC wants, but his original preference was Abu Dhabi in October.