Paddy Pimblett

Patrick Mark Pimblett (born 3 January 1995) is a British professional mixed martial artist. A professional since 2012, Pimblett is a former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of 11 July 2026, he is #5 in the Meta UFC lightweight rankings.

Early life Paddy Pimblett was born on 3 January 1995 and grew up in Huyton, Merseyside. He attended St Margaret Mary's Primary school and Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School. Influenced by the fight between Rich Franklin and Vitor Belfort at UFC 103, he started training in mixed martial arts at the age of 15, joining Next Generation MMA and deciding he would compete in the sport for a living shortly afterwards.

Mixed martial arts career Early career Pimblett made his debut in 2012, aged 17, racking up a 3–0 record before signing with Cage Warriors a year later. In 2016, he claimed the Cage Warriors featherweight championship, beating Johnny Frachey at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, and defended it once against Julian Erosa, winning a highly controversial unanimous decision. In April 2017, Pimblett lost it against Nad Narimani and moved up to lightweight. After a win, he challenged for the Cage Warriors lightweight championship, losing by unanimous decision to Søren Bak. After two more wins in the organisation, Pimblett signed a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Pimblett had previously declined two UFC deals, getting better financial offers from Cage Warriors.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Pimblett made his promotional debut against Luigi Vendramini on 4 September 2021, at UFC Fight Night 191. Pimblett won the bout via knockout in the first round. This fight earned him a Performance of the night bonus. In October 2021, Pimblett signed an endorsement deal with Barstool Sports worth over $1,000,000.

Pimblett faced Rodrigo Vargas on 19 March 2022 at UFC Fight Night 204. He won the fight via submission in round one. With this win, he received his second consecutive Performance of the Night award. Paddy would later reveal he made $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win.

Pimblett next faced Jordan Leavitt on 23 July 2022 at UFC Fight Night 208. He won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round. This win earned him the Performance of the Night award.

Pimblett faced Jared Gordon on 10 December 2022 at UFC 282. He won the bout via unanimous decision. The decision was met with controversy, as many media outlets, fighters, and fans expressed their belief that Gordon had won the fight. 23 out of 24 media sources scored the fight in favour of Gordon.

Pimblett faced Tony Ferguson on 16 December 2023 at UFC 296. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Pimblett faced King Green on 27 July 2024 at UFC 304. He won the fight by a triangle-choke submission in the first round. This fight earned him a $200,000 Performance of the Night award.

Pimblett faced former three-time Bellator Lightweight World Champion (also former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger) Michael Chandler in the five-round co-main event on 12 April 2025 at UFC 314. He won the fight by technical knockout in the third round. This fight earned him another Performance of the Night award.

Pimblett competed for the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship against former interim champion Justin Gaethje on 24 January 2026 at UFC 324. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. This fight earned him a $100,000 Fight of the Night award.

Pimblett faced Benoît Saint Denis on 11 July 2026, in the co-main event of UFC 329. He won the fight by technical submission via a Peruvian necktie in the first round. This fight earned him a $100,000 Performance of the Night award.

Personal life Pimblett married his longtime girlfriend Laura Gregory on 28 May 2023 at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire. In November of the same year, the couple announced they were expecting twin daughters.

Pimblett is a close friend of fellow mixed martial artist Molly McCann. Pimblett has a YouTube channel.

Pimblett describes himself as a socialist and an opponent of the Conservative Party. He supports the Liverpool-wide boycott of The Sun newspaper. He criticised Keir Starmer's government, expressing his wish that Jeremy Corbyn was still the leader of Labour.

Pimblett is a supporter of Liverpool Football Club and has expressed a desire to fight at the team's home stadium of Anfield.

Pimblett has said that his trademark floppy hair and lack of tattoos allows children to identify with him in a way that would not be possible for them to do if he was "a big hard fella with lots of tattoos". He later switched to a braided hairstyle before his fight with Tony Ferguson in December 2023, which he has used since. Pimblett made the change because he believed his long hair made it appear as if he was taking damage when he was not, which influenced the perception of the judges.

In October 2021, Pimblett signed a seven-figure sponsorship deal with Barstool Sports. In December 2022, he launched The Baddy Foundation, a charity with the goals of improving men's mental health and helping children who face food insecurity. In that same month, he endorsed the hydration drink "Body Fuel".

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (One time) Performance of the Night (Six times) Second fastest D'Arche choke submission victory in UFC history (0:52) UFC Honors Awards 2021: Fan's Choice Debut of the Year Nominee 2024: Fan's Choice Submission of the Year Nominee UFC.com Awards 2021: Ranked #9 Newcomer of the Year 2024: Ranked #2 Submission of the Year

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship CWFC Featherweight Championship (One time) One successful title defence Full Contact Contender FCC Featherweight Championship (One time) One successful title defence World MMA Awards 2022 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year 1 July 2024 – 31 December 2025 International Fighter of the Year Combat Press 2022 Breakout Fighter of the Year MMA Mania 2024 #3 Ranked Submission of the Year Bloody Elbow 2018 Submission of the Year MMA Junkie 2026 January Fight of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

|Win |align=center|24–4 |Benoît Saint Denis |Technical Submission (Peruvian necktie) |UFC 329 | |align=center|1 |align=center|0:52 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

|Win |align=center|23–3 |Michael Chandler |TKO (elbows and punches) |UFC 314 | |align=center|3 |align=center|3:07 |Miami, Florida, United States

|Win |align=center|22–3 |King Green |Technical Submission (triangle choke) |UFC 304 | |align=center|1 |align=center|3:22 |Manchester, England

|Win |align=center|21–3 |Tony Ferguson |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 296 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

|Win |align=center|20–3 |Jared Gordon |Decision (unanimous) |UFC 282 | |align=center|3 |align=center|5:00 |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

See also List of current UFC fighters List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links Official site

Paddy Pimblett

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