Paddy Pimblett Believes Tony Ferguson Fight is a ‘Lose-Lose’ Situation

Paddy Pimblett views his upcoming fight against Tony Ferguson as a lose-lose situation, regardless of the outcome of the bout.

Pimblett will bring a six-fight winning streak into his matchup with Ferguson — who is on a six-bout skid — at UFC 296 on Dec. 16 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Despite their starkly contrasting records in recent times, some fans expect “El Cucuy” to defeat Pimblett, especially after the Liverpudlian’s controversial decision win over Jared Gordon in his last outing back in December 2022.

Pimblett believes he’s going to receive flak from fans regardless of the outcome of his clash against Ferguson. “The Baddy” noted that despite Ferguson having lost only to elite opponents in his recent skid, the former interim lightweight champ is being viewed as well past his prime. Hence, Pimblett would be slammed for losing to a washed-up Ferguson if he lost, and a win would also be dismissed on similar grounds.

“I don’t even know because obviously he’s lost six in a row,” Pimblett said on the Energized Show. “But they’re all big names, they’re all very good names, apart from Bobby Green. So I don’t know. I really don’t. As I’ve said plenty of times, I see this as a lose-lose fight for me because if I did lose, people will be like, ‘Oh, you got beat by a washed Tony.’

“And when I win, people are going to be like, ‘Oh, Tony was washed anyway. It doesn’t matter.’ Even though I’m seeing everyone online picking Tony to beat me, I know for a fact, even when I win, I’m not going to get any credit.”

Pimblett had finished all three of his UFC fights prior to the clash against Gordon, which he claims has left a bad taste in his mouth. The former Cage Warriors champ wants to put on a show against Ferguson, who is well known for having entertaining fights over the years.

“I want a war,” Pimblett said. “I want to look like Anthony Pettis after he fought him, and I want him to look worse than Anthony Pettis after he fought him. I want a scrap, lad. I’m going to come in and throw down.”