Paddy Pimblett is not interested in fighting at the UFC’s upcoming White House event, despite the huge attention it is getting in the combat sports world.
After Donald Trump made the announcement, several of the promotion’s top names started campaigning to be part of the June card.
As the date gets closer, UFC boss Dana White has been sharing more information to build hype around what is shaping up to be a landmark event.
But one fighter who will not be involved is Pimblett, who has already ruled himself out of contention for a spot on June 14th.
‘The Baddy’ is set to make his return to the Octagon this Saturday. He will be facing Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title in the main event of UFC 324.
Paddy Pimblett explains why he will not be fighting on the UFC White House card
With Ilia Topuria stepping away from the sport to deal with personal matters, Dana White stepped in to fill the gap by booking a fight between Pimblett and ‘The Highlight’ for the interim title.
Topuria is now eyeing a return to action sometime between April and June. While the Briton has not secured the interim belt yet, he was quick to shut down those plans, saying an April turnaround would be too soon for him.
He also ruled out any interest in competing at the White House event in June. Speaking with Michael Bisping, Pimblett explained: “No (I don’t think I’ll fight Ilia at the White House), I don’t really wanna fight on the White House card.
“I wouldn’t be able to have all my friends and family there. It’ll be like an invite-only thing and I wouldn’t be able to have everyone that’s come to support me for every fight so I wouldn’t want to leave anyone out.”
Pimblett also mentioned just how many people are backing him for this fight – around 250 friends and family members are expected at UFC 324.
‘The Baddy’ confident he can overtake Makhachev and Nurmagomedov as lightweight GOAT
Speaking to Bloody Elbow ahead of his fight with Gaethje, Pimblett said that he feels he could go on to surpass both Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov as the best ever in the division.
Makhachev is widely considered the top lightweight in history, holding the record for most title defenses in the division.
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