Why Ronda Rousey says Paddy Pimblett is the one she would “love to poach” From the UFC for MVP
Ronda Rousey says she would love to poach Paddy Pimblett from the UFC for an MVP fight event. Ronda Rousey headlines the MVP MMA event this Saturday on Netflix. She faces Gina Carano in the main event at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
The card stacks up with Francis Ngannou against Philipe Lins at heavyweight, Nate Diaz versus Mike Perry at welterweight, and Junior dos Santos taking on Robelis Despaigne. Salahdine Parnasse meets Kevin Cross at lightweight, while prelims include Adriano Moraes, Jason Jackson, and Aline Pereira. Rousey called the lineup a dream already, with those names on board.
Ronda Rousey explains why Paddy Pimblett is made for MVP MMA
In a Complex interview, Rousey named her top UFC fighter to bring over to MVP MMA: Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett. She pointed to his draw beyond wins or titles. “I just think that he’s an incredible character on his own. Yeah, and he doesn’t need a belt. He doesn’t need a brand. People will watch him just for him,” Rousey said.
Pimblett holds a 23-4 record in the UFC lightweight division, with wins over Tony Ferguson, King Green, and Michael Chandler. The 31-year-old from Liverpool trains at Next Generation MMA and fights orthodox. He mixes Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt submissions with power from boxing training.
Friends who skip MMA events text Rousey about Pimblett’s entrances. “I’ve had friends of mine that aren’t even that interested in MMA hit me up and be like, ‘Oh my god, did you see his entrance?’ And an entrance giving people chills is something you can’t teach, and something that he has in spades,” she added.
Carano enters with a 7-1 record, her last fight a 2009 loss to Cris Cyborg in Strikeforce. Rousey, a former UFC champion, returns after years away. MVP uses a hexagonal cage and Unified Rules for the five-round featherweight bout at 145 pounds.
Rousey sees value in pulling talent like Pimblett, even if they stay in the UFC for better pay leverage there. “Even if they stay in the UFC, to have the leverage to get compensated more fairly,” she noted. The event starts prelims at 6 p.m. ET on YouTube and Tudum, main card at 9 p.m. on Netflix.
