In the age of Dana White’s Contender Series and during a COVID-19 pandemic that has forced countless short-notice replacements, it is a rare occurrence for the UFC to sign a fighter outright without a booking in place.
That said, after years spent on the cusp of entering the Octagon, March brought UK star Paddy Pimblett to the UFC roster in the classic way. Just nine days removed from a first-round submission in his longtime home of Cage Warriors, Pimblett’s signing was announced by the promotion’s official Europe Twitter account.
On Saturday, Pimblett will make his long-awaited UFC debut at UFC Vegas 36: Brunson vs. Till when he faces Italian-Brazilian Luigi Vendramini, a three-fight UFC veteran.
Paddy Pimblett makes long-awaited debut at UFC Vegas 36
Pimblett, 26, has long been considered a budding star in the MMA world, particularly in Europe. Since turning pro in 2012, Pimblett has been one of the most popular fighters in Cage Warriors history.
“I think I had the most fights ever on Cage Warriors,” Pimblett told UFC.com in August. “I had 14 fights on Cage Warriors. Not many people stick around that long and have that many fights. I became the main man; the cards weren’t the same without me on them.”
A savvy grappler, Pimblett’s submissions and smothering ground control, coupled with vicious ground-and-pound, have made him a dangerous opponent for anyone as he transitioned from being a featherweight champion to a rising lightweight star.
In 2016 he clinched the Cage Warriors featherweight title, once held by UFC star and two-weight champion Conor McGregor, and defended it once against The Ultimate Fighter and UFC standout Julian Erosa. Pimblett would stumble a bit after the Erosa fight, however, dropping two of his next three fights — the second and third losses of his career — against future UFC and Bellator fighters Nad Narimani and Soren Bak.
But after two years on the sidelines without a fight due to opponents’ withdrawals and weight misses, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, Pimblett scored back-to-back first-round finishes to bring his record to 16-3. The emphatic finishes, combined with his serious charisma and following, were enough to push the UFC to sign him at long last.
Pimblett expecting victory over Luigi Vendramini on Saturday
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Vendramini, 25, who signed with the UFC as an undefeated finisher in 2018, suffered his first pro loss to a talented Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in 2018 by technical knockout. He rebounded from the defeat with a first-round TKO of Jessin Ayari, and fell to Fares Ziam by unanimous decision in his most recent outing in June.
Pimblett believes he will defeat Vendramini en route to his first UFC victory, taking to social media to proclaim that he is in “the best shape of (his) life” and “coming to make a statement” on Saturday.
“No one can stop me,” Pimblett told MMAJunkie last year. “The only thing that can stop me is myself, and I’ve done that in the past and gone in there with injuries and different stuff.
“But I’m a different person now. I’ve grown up, I’m a different person, and I can’t wait to (expletive) fight.”
UFC Vegas 36 takes place on September 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event begins at 1:30 pm ET with preliminary action and is then followed by the main card at 4 pm ET. The entire event will air exclusively on streaming service ESPN+.
–Field Level Media
