Unlike most fighters, Gilbert Burns shared some praise towards Paddy Pimblett.
Pimblett has often been criticized by his fellow peers, with the likes of Daniel Cormier, Paul Felder, and Rafael dos Anjos expecting more from Pimblett’s win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 296.
Although Pimblett (21-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) wasn’t able to finish the skidding Ferguson, he dominated him throughout the entire fight. Burns says he trained with Pimblett before in the U.K. and sees promise from the rising contender.
“I think he’s still super young and he’s going through the test,” Burns said on the JAXXON PODCAST with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. “He’s undefeated in the UFC. He beat a couple good guys – Jared Gordon and now Tony. Tony, unfortunately, is not the Tony that we all like. I’m still a fan of the guy and I think he’s a freaking legend, but he’s kind of going down now. But the guy showed up because Tony is like the old guy, the old shark – if he smells that blood, if he sees it, he’s going to take it.
“I think the guy fought very good. Like I said, (Pimblett) still needs to get tested. I still think that he needs to get to that point that’s like, let’s see what he’s going to do on that last round. He lost the first one, lost the second one and let’s see now. I still want to see those guys tested, but still very young. (He has) good jiu-jitsu. When I was in the U.K., I was training with him. The guy is serious. He takes it super serious. Good guy, trains hard, I think, but still got to be tested a little bit.”
Pimblett is known to balloon up in between fights, but Burns says “The Baddy” was good in shape months before his return from ankle surgery.
“Four months ago when I was in the U.K, he was already in shape,” Burns said. “I think slowly he’s learning. And yeah – he’s legit. He’s still very young, but he’s a legit fighter.”
Gilbert Burns recounts training with Paddy Pimblett: ‘He’s a legit fighter’