Paddy Pimblett hoping for Tony Ferguson-Anthony Pettis type of “war” against ‘El Cucuy’ at UFC 296

Paddy Pimblett is hoping for a war against Tony Ferguson at UFC 296.

Pimblett is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 296 against the former interim lightweight champion in a highly-anticipated matchup. It’s Pimblett’s first fight in a year while Ferguson is on a six-fight losing streak, but despite that, ‘The Baddy’ knows ‘El Cucuy’ is still a tough out.

With Paddy Pimblett thinking Tony Ferguson is still a tough fight at UFC 296, he says he’s hopeful the fight can be similar to ‘El Cucuy’s’ war against Anthony Pettis back in 2018.

“I want a war, I want to look like Anthony Pettis after he fought him, and I want him to look worse than Anthony Pettis after he fought him. I want a scrap, lad. I’m going to come in and throw down,” Pimblett said on the Energized Show.

In the fight, both Tony Ferguson and Anthony Pettis were beaten up and knocked down, in a performance that Paddy Pimblett is hoping to replicate. However, he knows even if the fight is a war and he gets the win, people will continue to discredit him and the victory itself.

“I see this as a lose-lose fight for me because if I did lose, people will be like, oh, you got beat by a washed Tony. And when I win, people are going to be like, oh, Tony was washed anyway. It doesn’t matter. Even though I’m seeing everyone online picking Tony to beat me, I know for a fact, even when I win, I’m not going to get any credit,” Pimblett said.

Paddy Pimblett enters his UFC 296 fight against Tony Ferguson on a six-fight winning streak. He’s currently 4-0 in the UFC and coming off a decision win over Jared Gordon last December. Also in the UFC, he submitted Jordan Leavitt, submitted Kazula Vargas, and knocked out Luigi Vendramini.