Issue 216

April 2025

November 12, 2016

BT Sport Studios, London, England

Cage Warriors: Unplugged

Paddy Pimblett is the talk of the town. The boy that people were once so eager to write off has matured into the man they all want to write about. The kid with the floppy hair, Sakuraba shorts, and a sick flying triangle is now a 30-year-old father of two, ranked 8^th in the UFC’s horror show of a lightweight division and perhaps just a fight or two removed from a shot at the biggest prize in the sport.  Those new to the bandwagon might be forgiven for thinking that ‘The Baddy’ is – to quote Creedence Clearwater Revival – a Fortunate Son. One of the privileged few given a free pass to MMA’s upper echelons. In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Scouse scrapper’s mettle was tested early and often before he’d ever set foot in the Octagon. The first man to truly put Pimblett to the test was himself overlooked at the time. Written off as a wild brawler, tailor-made to fall victim to Paddy’s effervescent grappling repertoire. ‘Juicy J,’ Julian Erosa was a twenty-fight veteran with a propensity for finishing opponents in a violent fashion. He may not have had the cult-hero status and rabid domestic backing that Pimblett enjoyed, but those ‘in the know’ were under no illusions as to the kind of danger he posed to one of Cage Warriors fastest rising stars.

NOVEMBER 12^TH, 2016: NEW YORK CITY

UFC 205 is a night etched into the annals of MMA history. That night hosted one of the most sublime championship performances of all time, as Conor McGregor stepped into the UFC’s lightweight division for the first time, before stepping out a champion. McGregor crushed Eddie Alvarez, a man known for dragging opponents into spit and sawdust brawls, with a pitch-perfect display of striking. Halfway around the world, in the Cage Warriors fighters’ hotel, Paddy Pimblett gingerly shoveled forkfuls of chicken chow mien down his throat via a badly swollen jaw. 

NOVEMBER 12^TH, 2016: LONDON, ENGLAND

Cage Warriors events were, at the time, aired on the UK’s BT Sport channel. The same broadcaster that held the country’s UFC rights. McGregor vs Alvarez was set to be one of the most-watched cards in MMA history, and the fledgling broadcaster was keen to capitalize. The promotion that had breathed life into McGregor’s career was invited to produce an event in the station’s Stratford studios to air as a lead-in. An invite-only affair dubbed ‘Unplugged’ for the enjoyment of a tiny studio audience but presented with all the BT Sport bells and whistles. Pimblett, having captured the promotion’s 145lb title just eight weeks prior, had jumped at the chance to feature on what was to be a banner night for MMA in the UK. Erosa, who’d found himself floundering after exiting the UFC on the back of a KO loss following his stint on The Ultimate Fighter, saw the opportunity as a sure-fire ticket back to the big show. All that separated the pair were five exhausting, nail-biting rounds. 

NO EASY WINS

The first round opened as many of Paddy’s fights do, with the rangy Scouser swinging out long, reaching kicks to cover large distances and getting in close enough to put the meat and potatoes of his game plan. Commentator Luke Barnatt noted Erosa’s similar stature, and it wasn’t long before the American caught his man with a counter right to remind Paddy that he was facing a physical equal. Erosa used wild gestures to set up strikes from odd angles, and with both men marked up at the halfway point of the round, Pimblett had seen enough and maneuvered in for a slick takedown, executing a mat return when his opponent duly scrambled out. The American was able to take top position following a headlock sequence but would end the round with Pimblett on his back following a beautiful knee-knock takedown. 

ROUND TWO

The second frame saw Erosa come out kicking and Pimblett countering with a straight right. Almost a mirror image of the first. The Next Gen prodigy saw an opening and flurried as Erosa scurried backward in a straight line but was stunned and dropped by a sneaky right-hand counter shot. Pimblett played rubber guard to slow the action down, but in the first of several tactical errors, Erosa countered by pulling guard and trading elbows from the bottom position. With two minutes left on the clock, the pair ended up back on their feet, with Pimblett again getting the better of the striking exchanges, eventually clipping Erosa before planting him back onto the mat as the round ended. 

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM

Things were close, but they were about to be shook up in the third. After a fairly even start to the round, Pimblett scored another big takedown and passed into mount, jamming his shoulder into Erosa’s neck. ‘Juicy J’ eventually created some space, but every attack was turned back, and ‘The Baddy’ dropped ground ‘n’ pound by way of a receipt. The pair found themselves back on their feet with the clock running down, but Paddy suddenly looked exhausted. It had taken him multiple attempts to make championship weight the previous day (a cut he later noted was ‘killing him’ due to his poor diet), and it was showing. 

Erosa saw it, too. The American launched himself off the canvas with a piston-like flying knee, crashing into his opponent’s jaw and sending his long, blond locks flying. Scousers, however, don’t get knocked out, and Pimblett was able to shoot on autopilot to remain in the game. 

WHAT JUST HAPPENED? 

Round 4 might just be the biggest tactical miscalculation of Erosa’s career. Pimblett had been dragged into his corner between frames and still looked to be less than compos mentis. With Paddy’s footwork not what it should have been and his chin there for the taking, ‘Juicy J’ instead settled into a bizarre pattern of throwing single shots, body punches, and mean mugging to both his opponent and the crowd. 

“He’s crumbling!” bellowed Erosa’s corner, but there was a distinct lack of urgency, effectively allowing the Brit to take the round off and recover. 

With some razor-thin rounds in the bag, neither man could afford to coast in the fifth, but the bout had taken its toll. Erosa again opted to eschew combinations in favor of single kicks and punches before Paddy countered with a combination and tied his man up on the fence. The pair jockeyed for position, but there were no takedowns forthcoming. As the clock ran dry, it was still neck and neck. A snapping kick from Julian met a clean jab from Paddy, so the dance continued. When the takedown finally came, it was agonizingly – for Pimblett at least - a second after the final buzzer. 

THE AFTERMATH 

The scorecards were in. All three judges agreed on the first three rounds going to Pimblett, with Erosa getting the fourth. Judge Sledge gave the Englishman the fifth, with Judges Cartlidge and Lethaby saw it for his opponent. 

The decision generates controversy to this day, with many fans not realizing that the bout was scored under the pre-2017 judging criteria. Were it judged by modern standards, which err towards damage and big, impactful moments, things might not have played out the way they did.