In fighting, not all losses are created equal, nor can many losses be properly contextualized in the moment. Paddy Pimblett entered UFC 324 in January as a favorite to win the interim lightweight championship against Justin Gaethje. By the end of the fight, Pimblett's face had been mashed into a pulp, and Gaethje was raising the title.
In the moment, the backlash was fast and harsh. There were claims that Pimblett was a fraud of a contender who hadn't earned a title opportunity, and who was rushed into a title opportunity because UFC officials saw him as a marketable star, among other insults to Pimblett's fighting talents.
But, as stated, sometimes it takes time to put a loss into context. As Gaethje was backflipping from the top of the Octagon on the White House South Lawn moments after putting a beating on Ilia Topuria so severe that the fight had to be stopped before the final round, Pimblett's loss to the veteran slugger suddenly didn't seem so bad.
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On Saturday, Pimblett returns to the Octagon to face Benoit Saint Denis in the co-main event of UFC 329. Saint Denis sits ahead of Pimblett in the official UFC rankings, and just behind the division's elite title contenders. Having had roughly half a year to reflect on the loss to Gaethje, and ahead of stepping back into the Octagon, Pimblett spoke to CBS Sports' Brian Campbell about the recontextualizing of the Gaethje loss in the shadow of Gaethje's championship victory.
"It did, because all anyone was saying after [the fight] was, "Oh, the layoff and he got beat by old man Gaethje,'" Pimblett said. "Now Gaethje's just beaten the 'pound-for-pound' best fighter in the world, who's just a little midget. Now everyone's saying, 'Oh, that's aged well,' and that. I knew how good Gaethje was. I said before he beat Ilia that he'd beat Ilia, because I know I'd beat Ilia and Justin beat me, so he was going to beat Ilia."
While Pimblett believes Gaethje's White House success reflects well on him, he does not believe he proved anything to himself, nor does he find any sort of "moral victory" in lasting to the final bell against the new lightweight champion.
"I didn't prove nothing to myself because I've always known I was a warrior like that and always knew there was no stopping me," Pimblett said. "I'll keep swinging until the final bell if it means I can get a win. You know, it's crazy, I was on a seven-fight win streak before then, and I've gotten more respect for losing a fight than I had from my seven-fight win streak. ... We fight in a crazy sport with crazy fans. I think it's mad, a lot of people say you've lost, but you've won. No, I've lost at the end of the day. "
In reality, Pimblett did show incredible toughness against Gaethje, despite dropping the clear decision. He absorbed 200 strikes (144 significant strikes) from Gaethje. It took 119 strikes (91 significant) from Gaethje to destroy Topuria's face and force him to retire on his stool before the fifth round.
But, as Pimblett always says, "Scousers don't get knocked out." And, with that in mind, he welcomes the dangerous Saint Denis to try and fight him the same way as Gaethje did.
"Obviously, [Saint Denis] is a challenge," Pimblett said. "He's ranked five in the world. He comes forward with constant pressure and tries to take your head off with backhands and back kicks, and he's a southpaw. But I like fighting southpaws. I've never lost to a southpaw, and I've fought three French people in the past, and all three of them were finished in the first two rounds. I can't see how he beats me. He's going to try and take me down and get choked, or he's going to try to stand with me and get knocked out. Justin Gaethje is a completely different animal from him and that's just a fact.
"He won't be able to do that. He hasn't got the cardio and he hasn't got the chin. If he wants to have a scrap like that, I'll knock his ass out."
