Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett has his next assignment, and it’s another step up in class for the larger-than-life Englishman as he continues to work his way up the UFC lightweight division.
Pimblett will take on Jared “Flash” Gordon at the final UFC pay-per-view event of 2022, UFC 282 on December 10 in Las Vegas, with the pair set to go head to head in an intriguing clash at 155 pounds. The bout was officially confirmed by the UFC’s social media channels during fight week ahead of UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi.
Pimblett heads into the bout riding a five-fight win streak stretching back to his time in Cage Warriors, and includes a hat-trick of back-to-back stoppage victories in the UFC.
His first victory under the UFC banner came via first-round TKO against Luigi Vendramini at UFC Fight Night 191 in Las Vegas in September 2021, and the Liverpudlian followed up with a submission finish of Rodrigo Vargas via first-round rear-naked choke at UFC Fight Night 204 in London, England in March.
Pimblett then claimed a second successive rear-naked choke finish when the UFC returned to London in July for UFC Fight Night 208. His second-round submission of Jordan Leavitt catapulted the already-popular Pimblett to new levels of fame on both sides of the pond as he improved his career record to 19 wins, three losses.
Now he’ll face the seasoned UFC veteran Gordon, who will arrive in Vegas with five wins from his last seven outings stretching back to 2019. Gordon’s last appearance saw him claim a unanimous decision victory over dangerous Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Leonardo Santos at UFC 278 in August.
It means the two fighters, who have both spoken out about mental health during their respective careers, will share the big stage in Las Vegas on December 10.
Their bout joins a stacked lineup of confirmed bouts, with more still to be added in the coming days.
UFC 282: Confirmed Bouts
- Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira – for light heavyweight title
- Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev
- Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon
- Robbie Lawler vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio
- Alexander Gustafsson vs. Ovince Saint-Preux
- Darren Till vs. Dricus du Plessis
- Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Dalcha Lungiambula
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Chris Daukaus
- Billy Quarantillo vs. Alexander Hernandez
- T.J. Brown vs. Erik Silva
- Chris Curtis vs. Joaquin Buckley
- Ronnie Lawrence vs. Cameron Saaiman
- Vinicius Salvador vs. Daniel da Silva