You’re going to hear an awful lot more about Paddy Pimblett in the coming months.
The Liverpool featherweight is not easy to forget once you set eyes on him and his memorability becomes even more luminous once you watch him fight.
Pimblett stretched his professional record to 12-1 by claiming the vacant Cage Warriors 145lb title on Saturday night.
The belt is something of a ticket to the UFC for featherweights with Conor McGregor, Jim Alers and Alex Enlund all earning call-ups to the brightest stage for mixed martial arts after impressing as Cage Warriors champions.
Paddy Pimblett is the new Featherweight World Champion after defeating Johnny Frachey in Liverpool. #CWFC78 https://t.co/3DCd3gnSEc
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) September 10, 2016
Pimblett cemented his status as one of the most exciting young talents on the European scene when he earned a first round TKO over Johnny Frachey on Merseyside.
Renowned for his skills on the mat, Pimblett is displaying strides in his striking game and Frachey found that out the painful way when he was sent to the mat under the weight of a right hand from ‘The Baddy’.
Pimblett delivered a breathless onslaught of hammer fists to his opponent, forcing referee Rich Mitchell to call a halt to proceedings after just 95 seconds.
“I am going to be the pound-for-pound best in the world in five years,” the 21-year-old boldly predicted as he hoisted his new piece of gold aloft.
Fun-loving Pimblett loves nothing more than to put a show on and he did just that, brightening his blip on the radar of UFC featherweight matchmaker Sean Shelby.
Paddy! Destined for the top. #CWFC78 pic.twitter.com/6w4HgAkprg
— Darragh Murphy (@DarrMurphy) September 10, 2016
And he certainly got the home crowd even further behind him when he sang ‘Justice for the 96’ in the wake of his biggest win to date, and his eighth in a row.
New @cagewarriors Featherweight champ @patrickPimblett sings Justice for The 96 tonight at the Echo Arena! https://t.co/2l1NC9zQwo
— The Redmen TV (@TheRedmenTV) September 10, 2016
He might have won McGregor’s old belt. But he also has a wager that he will beat the current UFC featherweight champion by 2020 with Paddy Power.
He made the 5/1 bet with the Irish bookmaker which would see him win £10,000 for charity if he can beat the Notorious by the end of the decade. Crazier things have happened.
