UFC newcomer Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett was criticised by some fans after describing Khabib Nurmagomedov as 'the Karen of MMA' - and now he has explained why he said it.
It has been a memorable week for the 26-year-old Liverpudlian fighter. After a huge amount of hype, he delivered an impressive performance on his UFC debut at the weekend, defeating Luigi Vendramini via TKO in the opening round.
"What did I tell you?" Pimblett told Michael Bisping after the fight. "I'm a scouser. We don't get knocked out. I'm here to takeover. I'm the new cash cow. I'm the new man. People are going to be calling me out now."
Pimblett was later asked who he would like to challenge next after his victory against Vendramini. "I'm not really calling anyone out," he said. "The only thing I want to call out is the company Instagram. Give me my account back, you lizards."
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Here is that interview.
The lightweight, who has a pro record of 17-3-0, has certainly got people talking in recent weeks. In fact, ahead of his UFC debut, he managed to go viral after describing former Russian fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov as 'the Karen of MMA'.
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"He's become the Karen of the MMA scene," Pimblett told Submission Radio. "See him on the podcast with Mike Tyson the other day? He's going, 'can you put this fast food away and this weed?' No lad, it's his podcast, he'll do what he wants.
"Shut up. You've been invited on as a guest lad, do as you're told, you divvy."
In the latest episode of UFC Unfiltered, Pimblett spoke about why he criticised Nurmagomedov following his appearance on Mike Tyson's podcast.
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"I just don't understand how you can go on a podcast called 'Hot Boxin' with Mike Tyson' and complain about him smoking cannabis," he said.
"What planet do you live on, bro? Anyone asks me a question about it, I'm not going to shy away from it. I'll answer it honestly. I don't care what all the fanboys got to say about me. That's why some people love me and some hate me.
"After the podcast, he (Khabib) came out and said that he didn't like the way Tyson was smoking and had fast food. I say at least watch an episode before going on a podcast, huh!"
Pimblett also maintains that, in his opinion, Nurmagomedov is not the greatest of all time.
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"Yeah, it's just opinion, lad," he told Submission Radio. "The way that I explained it is, opinions are just like assholes. Everyone's got one. So, you've just got to get on with it, haven't ya?
"Like, the Khabib fans online are worse than the Conor fans now. It's embarrassing. You can't say a bad word about him. I said that he's not the GOAT, but said he is that 155 GOAT, and people took no notice of that and just, 'oh, you said he's not the GOAT, this and that'.
"I started getting called a Muslim hater because I said he wasn't the greatest of all time. And he's not. I don't care what anyone says, he's not the GOAT. You've got to have longevity in this sport to be the GOAT, and he hasn't had longevity. He had three title defenses. Jon Jones has had what, 12?"
Topics: Khabib Nurmagomedov, Paddy Pimblett, UFC, MMA
