Michael Bisping is warning Paddy Pimblett not to take Jared Gordon lightly at UFC 282.
Pimblett (19-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC) faces Gordon (19-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) in the Dec. 10 co-headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas – his first pay-per-view event.
Pimblett, who has finished all three of his opponents in the octagon, predicted a quick knockout over Gordon – but Bisping isn’t sure about that.
“I think it might be a tougher matchup than what Paddy thinks,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “I think Paddy potentially is underestimating him. Now when I say underestimating him, I don’t mean that he’s taking it easy, and he’s kicking back in training, and he’s not pushing himself to the limit, and all the rest of it. Paddy has got eyes on being the champion. Paddy is pushing himself to the absolute goddamn limit because the opponent right now isn’t Jared Gordon. The opponent is the mission.
“The opponent is this journey, this wave that he wants to ride toward being a UFC champion, a legend in the sport, a Hall of Famer, and of course, retiring with millions and millions and millions of dollars in the bank – as I say, being a legend. He’s not underestimating or undertraining, should I say, but he might be mentally underestimating. He says he’s going to knock him out in the first round. I don’t know about that. I honestly don’t think he will knock him out inside the first round, but this is going to be a tough fight. Jared Gordon’s no walk in the park.”
Gordon has taken a different approach than Pimblett’s previous opponents. In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Gordon said he hopes to raise awareness with fellow mental health advocate Pimblett and that he looks forward to fighting him.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 282.
Michael Bisping: Paddy Pimblett may be ‘mentally underestimating’ Jared Gordon ahead of UFC 282