MMA news: Is the UFC building Paddy Pimblett’s star power with easy fights?

Paddy Pimblett is a controversial figure within the MMA community, with some seeing him as the UFC’s next massive star. However, since his clash with Tony Ferguson, his resume has left a lot to be desired.

This resume includes King Green, Michael Chandler and now Justin Gaethje.

It is starting to feel like the UFC is giving Pimblett fighters who are past their prime with massive star power to build his credibility and boost his status easily, writes Sports News Blitz’s Cameron Cleugh.

Paddy Pimblett’s controversial resume

Tony Ferguson was on a six-fight losing streak when he fought Pimblett and would go on to never win a fight in the UFC again.

Pimblett then fought King Green, who was 38 at the time, compared to Pimblett, who was 30.

The bout proved that experience is not everything as it only lasted three minutes and 22 seconds, ending via a brutal submission.

Most recently, Pimblett fought Michael Chandler, who has only one win in the past five years, which was also over Tony Ferguson.

This has led fans to wonder if the UFC is giving Paddy Pimblett easy fights in order to boost his status as a celebrity rather than a fighter.

His social media flame wars, post-fight weight gains, and TV show appearances are all evidence that both him and the UFC are trying to capitalise on his following while appearing to be a rising prospect of the sport.

Paddy Pimblett’s activity within the sport could also be questioned, with him averaging one fight a year since 2023 and having taken minor damage in these fights.

This means there is no excuse for his lack of activity besides his famous post-fight weight gain, which does not allow him to take short notice fights and require longer fight camps.

A damaged veteran

To his credit Gaethje is a step up in opponent for Pimblett, however, Gaethje is six years older, and those years have not been kind as he has featured in some of the most brutal fights the sport has seen.

Gaethje has one of the highest significant strike absorption rates per minute (SapM) at 7.8, according to the UFC’s official stat page.

To put this in context, Dustin Poirier, a similar fighter, has a SapM of 4.7.

All of this to say, Gaethje has absorbed a lot of damage over his career.

Factor in the knockout he faced fighting Max Holloway, and it is easy to see why a lot of people are questioning his chin.

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Still solid opposition

With all of this said, Gaethje has a lot of things in his favour. His strong wrestling base will negate Paddy Pimblett's grappling, and in terms of striking, there is a clear winner.

Gaethje has six KO/TKO victories in the UFC alone, while Pimblett only has two KO/TKO victories, with most of his wins coming from submissions.

While Gaethje is older, he is also more experienced, having shared an octagon with some of the sport’s royalty.

Fighters such as Khabib Nurmagomedov, Charles Olivera, Edson Barbosa, and Rafael Fiziev are all notable opponents that Gaethje has fought and learned from.

If the fight stays standing, then Gaethje is in with a high chance of issuing a technical knockout.

The fight will certainly be competitive, with both fighters seeming to have solid chins and an expert understanding of grappling.

While the pundits have Gaethje as the underdog, only time will tell who walks away victorious.

Business is business

The UFC is an entertainment product before it is a sport, so it's no shock that match makers are more interested in the numbers and analytics over doing what’s right for the sport.

In this business, the young eat the old, and fighting up-and-coming talent is a risk to your career and reputation for little financial gain.

We have seen this before in cases like Conor McGregor vs Jose Aldo, where a young fighter demolishes a household name to build themselves on the back of it.

To conclude, the UFC is a hugely complex company with much more to their match making than rankings, and it's for this reason that we could be seeing fights such as this become commonplace.

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