Pimblett on Oliveira’s loss to Makhachev: ‘I would’ve put up a better fight’
“I would’ve put up a better fight that night than Charles did, to be honest.”
Paddy Pimblett might be the new kid on the block, but even he feels he would have put up a better fight than Charles Oliveira did against Islam Makhachev at UFC 280.
Oliveira, the former UFC lightweight champion, was submitted by Makhachev in the second round of their lightweight title fight at UFC 280, losing for the first time since 2018 and suffering the first championship defeat of his career.
Pimblett regretted picking Oliveira to win due to the online backlash he received after the fight. The Liverpudlian feels he could’ve performed better than ‘Do Bronx’ on fight night and perhaps beaten Makhachev himself.
“I got so much stick for picking Charles against Islam, which is crazy because a lot of people picked Charles but still on social media posts and stuff oh you picked Charles. Yeah, cause Charles had fought the better people and I thought Charles was going to win,” Pimblett said ahead of his upcoming fight with Jared Gordon at UFC 282 (h/t BJPenn.com). “Can’t I have a prediction anymore? People saying you haven’t given props to Islam, I have. He looked unbelievable that night, he absolutely dominated Charles. I would’ve put up a better fight that night than Charles did, to be honest.”
Oliveira was offered a rematch with Makhachev but reportedly turned it down due to emotional stress, per his team. The Brazilian is expected to return to competition next year against a TBA opponent.
Paddy, meanwhile, returns to the Octagon this Saturday at UFC 282, where he takes on Kill Cliff FC’s Jared Gordon in the co-main event. The pay-per-view, which features Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev as the main event, takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.