UFC’s Paramount era got off to a solid start, but the main event—while exciting—was peculiar. Justin Gaethje captured the interim UFC lightweight title with a unanimous-decision win over Paddy Pimblett.
The fight was unquestionably the best scrap of the evening, but the way it played out was plain strange. Pimblett, the expert grappler, spent nearly the entire fight striking with the most prolific striker in UFC history. It wasn’t a smart game plan, and it certainly didn’t work.
Gaethje consistently landed the harder, more accurate shots. He mixed in leg kicks, which seemed to slow Pimblett down as the fight progressed. Pimblett’s corner repeatedly urged him to shoot for takedowns, but he largely ignored their advice.He’d occasionally attempt a shot, but Gaethje defended them well, often turning the attempts into clinch situations where he could land even more damage.
The first two rounds were fairly competitive, with Pimblett having some moments, but Gaethje clearly won the third, fourth, and fifth rounds. By the championship rounds,Pimblett looked tired and was eating a lot of Gaethje’s strikes. He never really established any meaningful offense in the later rounds.
The judges scored the fight 50-45, 50-45, and 49-46, all for Gaethje. It was a dominant performance from the interim champion.
After the fight, Gaethje called for a unification bout with Islam Makhachev. makhachev is currently the UFC’s lightweight champion. It’s a fight that fans have been wanting for a long time, and now it seems likely to happen.
“I’m ready to fight for the undisputed title,” Gaethje said in his post-fight interview. “Islam, where are you?”
Pimblett, while gracious in defeat, admitted he made a mistake in his approach. “I should have wrestled more,” he said. “I got caught up in trying to strike with Justin, and that was a bad decision.”
The win for gaethje is a significant one. He’s a fan favorite and a proven finisher. Now, he has a chance to become the undisputed lightweight champion of the world. The fight with Makhachev will be a tough one, but Gaethje is confident he can win.
