Alexander Volkanovski praises Paddy Pimblett ahead of his UFC 282 co-headliner

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has praised the UFC’s new ‘cash cow’ Paddy Pimblett, for the path he’s taken thus far.

Pimblett is scheduled to make his pay-per-view debut this Saturday at UFC 282 against Jared Gordon. The Liverpudlian has promised to take the roof of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

So far in his UFC career, Pimblett has finished Luigi Vendramini, Rodrigo Vargas and Jordan Leavitt. However, it’s the Scouser’s popularity and hype that has landed him the co-main event slot this early in his UFC tenure.

Volkanovski, the king of the featherweight division and potentially the lightweight division, has been watching Pimblett’s rise from afar. The Australian is scheduled to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 and, if successful in attaining double champ status, could face Pimblett in the future.

Alexander Volkanovski praises Paddy Pimblett prior to UFC 282

Despite being a potential opponent, Volkanovski admires the route Pimblett has taken to gain a worldwide fanbase. Volkanovski explained what he liked the most about the up-and-coming star on his Youtube channel.

“I don’t mind seeing guys like Paddy do well, especially when there’s so much hype and he’s bringing a lot of eyes to the sport,” Volkanovski said of Pimblett. “I have a lot of respect for that. He’s still young. I respect him with the fact that he doesn’t want to rush into the biggest challenges straight away. He’s still young, still learning, earning his way in…building that hype up. At the same time, I think he’s doing it right, so good on him.”

Quotes via MMA News

If you were to ask Pimblett, there’s a method to the madness in his approach. Similar to Sean O’Malley, who bided his time fighting the lower echelon of the division as opposed to diving headfirst into the deep end.

Watch Volkanovski discuss the rise of Pimblett