Uneven Pimblett Still A Work In Progress

UFC lightweight sensation Paddy Pimblett captured a unanimous decision victory over 155-pound veteran Jared Gordon in the UFC 282 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event last Sat. night (Dec. 10, 2022) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, a bout that marked just the second stateside contest for “The Baddy” since joining the promotion back in late 2021.

Get complete UFC 282 results and blow-by-blow coverage right here.

The 27 year-old Pimblett (20-3) finished his first three opponents under the UFC banner but struggled to deal with the rough-and-tumble “Flash.” After three rounds of action, 23 of the 24 media outlets providing UFC 282 results and play-by-play scored the bout in favor of Gordon. The cageisde judges, however, gave Pimblett the clean sweep (our full recap here).

Not surprisingly, MMA Twitter was a volcano of reactions.

“No, it wasn’t close,” Pimblett said during his post-fight interview with color commentator Joe Rogan. “He just controlled me in the third. Not at all. I won the first two rounds and then coasted in the third. I knew I was two rounds up and I didn’t want to do anything dangerous and risk losing the fight. I knew for a fact I won the first two rounds pretty easily.”

Check out the official scorecard right here.

“Jared’s one tough mother*cker,” Pimblett continued. “He’s one tough man, the trials and tribulations he’s had in his life and he’s come back. Hats off to Jared. I’m not gonna lie, I hurt my foot in that first round, one of the first kicks I threw. My right foot’s in a bit of pain. Gonna have to get that X-rayed, get that looked at. What do you think people, fight of the night or what? Fight of the night! Who’s a hype train? Someone say something!”

I’ll say something: That decision was garbage.

It also proved that Pimblett may not be ready to fight ranked competition. The promotion gambled by placing “The Baddy” in a PPV co-main event against Gordon because neither fighter is ranked at 155 pounds, so the outspoken scouser needed a big performance to justify his elevated position on the card. Instead, fans got a controversial decision win.

I guess it beats a non-title split draw.

It will be interesting to see what the promotion does with Pimblett moving forward. I think once the outrage over his Gordon decision fades from view, coupled with a return trip to London in March, matchmakers will be able to serve “The Baddy” an overseas softball to get his hype train back on track, though it remains to be seen how many fans will be willing to jump on board.

For more results and fallout from UFC 282 click here.