Paddy Believes O2 Arena Can’t Hold Him Anymore

Paddy Pimblett is moving on to bigger and better things following his submission win at UFC London yesterday (Sat., July 23, 2022) live on ESPN+ from London, England. Unfortunately for U.K. fans, that means no longer competing under the bright lights of the O2 Arena.

Pimblett, who has competed twice in London in 2022, should get a tick up in competition his next time out. He’s currently 3-0 with three finishes since joining UFC back in 2021 and is likely headed to a pay-per-view (PPV) card in the very near future. Considering O2 Arena is not a venue that UFC would look for when scheduling a stacked PPV card Pimblett believes Saturday was the last time in a long time that he’ll be fighting in front of his home crowd.

“I know for a fact now I’ll be fighting on pay-per-views with Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and [Daniel Cormier] commentating,” said Pimblett following his submission win over lightweight counterpart Jordan Leavitt.

“I know I won’t be fighting in The O2 again,” he added. “It’s too small.”

Pimblett, 27, is one of the biggest international stars UFC has at its disposal right now. The English fighter has already created a massive UFC following in just three Octagon appearances, became the first UFC fighter to sign with Barstool Sports, and simply steals the show wherever he goes. We don’t know at this time if Pimblett’s skill set will continue to mirror his rising UFC stock, but the promotion has to roll the red carpet out for “Baddy” one way or another.

Prior to UFC London this weekend Pimblett made it known that he wants to eventually headline an event at the massive Anfield soccer stadium in his native Liverpool. It may take Pimblett a few years to set something like that up, but those goals have not changed despite his expected move to PPV.

“We will do Anfield,” he said. “I promise you now. [UFC President] Dana [White] said he won’t do Anfield, but he also said women will never fight in the UFC, and Ronda Rousey came along. He said he won’t do a stadium in the U.K., but the Baddy’s come along, so he will.”

Wherever and whenever Pimblett is fighting you better believe the English fans will come out in droves to watch him perform. Similar to the way Conor McGregor began stealing shows when he first came along Pimblett is starting to do the same.

For complete UFC London results and coverage click here.