Justin Gaethje has addressed growing calls for a rematch with Paddy Pimblett, and his response is unlikely to go down well on Merseyside.
The two headlined UFC 324 in a brutal interim lightweight title fight, with Gaethje earning a unanimous decision win in what many called an early Fight of the Year candidate. That result made ‘The Highlight’ the next in line for Ilia Topuria’s undisputed belt.
Since then, Pimblett has spoken up about his frustrations over how the fight played out. He pointed to multiple eye pokes, saying they were a major factor in the damage he took over 25 minutes.
Paddy Pimblett asks for Justin Gaethje rematch following UFC 324
During a recent YouTube video breaking down UFC 325, ‘The Baddy’ went over what bothered him about his fight with Gaethje. He came right out and called for a rematch, although that seems unlikely given how crowded the top of the lightweight division already is.
“The only thing that’s wrong with me is my eyeballs from fingernails scratching my eyeballs,” Pimblett said in his new video. “But you know, we get on with it… I haven’t watched it back yet, I’m still quite annoyed at myself and quite a lot of other things surrounding the fight but we’ll watch it back.
“Hats off to him, I hope he wins the undisputed title off Ilia and hopefully we can run it back, even though I don’t think he has too many fights left.
“Hopefully we can run it back in future because there’s a couple of things in that fight that have p—– me off. I just hope that in the future he can step up and have a rematch with me.”
Justin Gaethje responds to Paddy Pimblett rematch calls
Still, it appears Gaethje is not very keen on a rematch with ‘The Baddy’. Before the Brit’s video was released, Bloody Elbow had an exclusive interview with the new champion in his capacity as a Duelbits ambassador.
When the topic of a possible rematch with Pimblett was raised, the 37-year-old American made his stance clear: “I don’t see that happening. I’m chasing the top of the division. A rematch with Paddy doesn’t make a lot of sense right now. I’m focused on the guys at the top.”
Comparing Pimblett to some of the other big names he has faced, Gaethje added: “Paddy’s a talented guy, but I’ve fought the best lightweights of this era,” said Gaethje. “He’s not in that category yet. He’s still got a lot to prove. He’s young, he’s improving, but he’s not on that level right now.”
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