UFC Legend Explains Why Justin Gaethje Beats Paddy Pimblett: “He Enjoys a Knockdown”
Urijah Faber is backing Justin Gaethje to hand Paddy Pimblett his first loss inside the Octagon.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s move from ESPN to Paramount officially kicks off on January 24, when the promotion presents the first of back-to-back premium live events. In the UFC 324 headliner, Pimblett will square off with Gaethje, the winner emerging as the interim lightweight world champion.
As it stands, Pimblett is a slight favorite to come out on top, with sportsbooks listing him as high as -230. However, not everyone agrees with the oddsmakers.
“Man, I got to go with Gaethje,” Faber told Helen Yee in a recent interview. “I feel like he’s the one that enjoys a knockdown, drag-out more than the other guy. Not that Paddy Pimblett doesn’t love to fight, it’s just Gaethje loves to actually get down and throw fist-for-fist. And he’s also got the Division I wrestling to kind of negate some of the biggest skill sets of Paddy.
“Paddy’s a very dominant grappler when it comes to submissions and being, you know, aggressive with that. I think Gaethje has the tools to keep it where he wants it and I think that’s going to give him an edge.”
Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje head into UFC 324 with a heap of momentum
Paddy goes into his first title opportunity with a perfect 7-0 record inside the Octagon, though his strength of schedule has been the subject of some debate. His most notable victories came against Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler, with a first-round submission victory over King Green wedged in between.
Meanwhile, Gaethje has won two of his last three, including a pair of decision wins over Rafael Fiziev and a highlight-reel head-kick KO against Dustin Poirier.
Gaethje has already held interim gold in the lightweight division, defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in May 2020. He failed to trade in the temporary title for undisputed gold later that same year, but a win over ‘The Baddy’ will give Gaethje one more crack at etching his name in the 155-pound history books.
