Paddy Pimblett defeated Jordan Leavittat at UFC London on Saturday.
The build-up to this fight was nothing short of completely weird. Leavitt promised to twerk on Pimblett when he won and Pimblett promised to “tea bag” Leavitt when he won. But what actually happened on Saturday was nothing short of expected.
In the first round, Leavitt was able to get control of Pimblett pretty early. He even secured several takedowns, but after a big slam, Leavitt was put in a compromising choke and nearly suffered a submission loss. He was able to scramble out and they were back to their feet. Leavitt slammed Pimblett again, he was showing his strength, much to the dismay of the London crowd who flipped from either booing or chanting for Pimblett. They scrambled on the ground with each man getting small victories over the other before getting back to their feet, trading kicks, and then falling to the ground to end the round with Pimblett in control.
To start the second, they traded strikes, Leavitt coming in hard with kicks and Paddy with the hand fighting. The energy was thick when Pimblett got Leavitt into another submission attempt, looking to be the first man to finish Leavitt. And he did it, with just a bit of work, Pimblett secured the neck of Leavitt and earned the rear-naked choke.
After the win, he leaped over the cage and was carried around the Octagon.
Pimblett had won his two previous UFC appearances but was still dealing with doubts from fans unfamiliar with his long history in the sport. Leavitt was coming off a two-fight win streak, bouncing back from the first loss of his career.
Paddy Pimblett finished Jordan Leavitt with a tight RNC (Video)
