Paddy Pimblett will be following a blueprint when he fights Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title.
But not the one that led Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira to victory in their respective submission wins over “The Highlight” at UFC 254 and UFC 274. Instead, “The Baddy” will look to repeat his striking performance against Michael Chandler at UFC 314 early last year.
“I’ll keep it on the feet with him,” a confident Pimblett told TNT Sports. “There’s the blueprint there to beat him, Max [Holloway] done it. Everyone underestimates my striking. Everyone thinks I’m just going to going to come in and I’m going to take him down and I’m not. He had an absolute war with Chandler and I pieced Chandler up. I know MMA math doesn’t work, but you’ll see come Jan. 24, when we have a perfect gameplan and we finish him within three.”
Gaethje remains a betting underdog for UFC 324.
“I do everything differently,“ Pimblett explained. ”I’m not normal, so he’s not going to be able to get a sparring partner that grapples like me or strikes like me because I’m a weirdo. You can’t really get a sparring partner in to do me because I’m so awkward. When I beat Chandler, everyone was like, ‘He’s old. He’s 2-5 in UFC.’ When I beat Justin, it’s going to be, ‘He’s old, he’s about to retire.’ No matter who I beat. When I beat Ilia, it’ll be, ‘He was never that good.’ So it doesn’t matter who I beat, the goalposts get moved.”
