Paddy Pimblett initially thought he did well vs. Jared Gordon, but says 'it was a terrible performance'

After watching his fight with Jared Gordon back, Paddy Pimblett was not happy with his performance.

Pimblett (20-3 MMA, 4-0 UFC) edged Gordon out in a close decision win last December at UFC 282, in a fight many people scored in favor of Gordon.

Pimblett received criticism for claiming that he did enough to win, but upon watching it back, he realized that it wasn’t his best performance. “The Baddy” currently is sidelined after undergoing ankle surgery in an injury he sustained during the fight, and is eager to rebound in a more impressive fashion.

“Mentally was the hardest part of being injured and sitting out, especially after my last performance,” Pimblett told TNT Sports. “If my last performance was a decent one, then yeah. But when you watch the fight back, it was a terrible performance from me.

“I’ll probably never answer questions again in a post-fight interview about my actual fight until I’ve watched it back. In my own head, I’d done well in that fight. Then I watched it back and it was a completely different fight than what I had in my head.”

Pimblett has been called out by the likes of Drew Dober, Matt Frevola and Elves Brener, but can’t do much about it since he’s still on the road to recovery.

“(It’s) obviously very frustrating, especially when you see sausages winning fights and that, and getting a bit of – it’s annoying,” Pimblett said. “I don’t mention any names – you know me.”

Pimblett hopes he can return before the end of the year, but isn’t banking on it. Either way, he’d love to be a part of the UFC’s next U.K. card, which is expected to take place in March. The one callout he seems to have responded to on multiple occasions is Frevola, who is currently ranked in the UFC’s lightweight standings.

“I want fight this year,” Pimblett said. “I want to fight before the end of this year and then again back (in London) next year in March? If I can come back, I’d love to fight Frevola.”