Paddy Pimblett picked up the biggest win of his career at UFC 296.
Pimblett dropped Tony Ferguson en route to a unanimous decision win over the bonified UFC legend at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
The most noteworthy thing about the start of Pimblett’s latest fight was the fact his signature blonde hair was fashioned into braids, presumably to stop it getting in his face.
Ferguson didn’t look like his old self, but he did well against the UFC prospect for much of round one.
However, 'The Baddy' landed a big right hand in the final minute that badly wobbled the MMA veteran and looked to have signalled the beginning of the end of his illustrious UFC career.
The Liverpudlian followed up with a flying knee that bundled Ferguson to the floor where he ate nasty ground strikes and spent the remaining seconds of the round fending off submission attempts.
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‘El Cucuy’ survived but was put on his back in the opening moments of the second stanza.
Sean Strickland asks child to move before attacking Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 296Pimblett maintained position and hammered away with punches, but Ferguson caused damage from the bottom and had his opponent bleeding badly from the nose.
The 28-year-old didn’t seem bothered by his injury, and he proceeded to chip away with punches from Ferguson’s guard for the rest of round two.
Former Navy Seal David Goggins, who the former interim lightweight has been training with in recent weeks, gave a rousing speech before the third frame.
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It seemed to work. Ferguson backed up his exhausted opponent to the fence and went hunting for an epic comeback victory to end his six-fight losing streak.
Unfortunately, for the 39-year-old, he was unable to keep the fight standing and take advantage of the beleaguered Brit who mustered up the strength to secure a takedown.
Pimblett finished the fight on top to earn three 30-27 scorecards from the cageside judges and improve his perfect UFC record to 5-0.
Post-fight, he asked the crowd to give Ferguson, who is now on a seven-fight winless streak, a round of applause to mark what could be his final moment in the UFC cage.
Pimblett can now look forward to fighting ranked opponents in 2024.
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