Israel Adesanya has been impressed with Paddy Pimblett and is hopeful the lightweight contender can continue on the right path.
Pimbret stunned the MMA community last Saturday when he choked out Bobby Green at UFC 304, becoming just the third fighter in history to submit the 50-fight veteran and his first submission victory since 2009. The win improved Pimbret to 6-0 at UFC and will be the first time he has a number next to his name the next time the promotion's official rankings are updated.
In a reaction video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Adesanya praised Pimblett and joked that he was taking it easy after such a momentous win.
“Watch him go up to 500 pounds in the next two days. Wow, damn it. Professor Nutty “Butt.”
Pimblett's weight gain is well-known and he often pokes fun at how much his body changes between fights, weighing in at 155 pounds and even saying he could be over 200 pounds by 2023.
“The Buddy” continued his strong form on fight day, and his win over Green was his most impressive to date. It took Pimblett less than a round to put Green to sleep by trapping him in a triangle choke. Green took some of the blame for his own defeat by initiating the grapple, a move that surprised Adesanya.
“Damn, I didn't think Bobby was going to shoot,” Adesanya said. “So I was like, 'How is Paddy going to win?'
“Literally at the breakdown I said, 'How is Paddy going to win?' Because in the stands I thought Bobby was OK. But then he shot. Damn it. But he took advantage of it.”
