Farah Hannoun, MMA Junkie Fri, October 30, 2026 at 4:10 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paddy Pimblett wanted to prove a point when he fought Justin Gaethje .
Pimblett (24-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC) hung tough, but was outstruck by Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) in their interim lightweight title fight at UFC 324 in January. Their battle won Fight of the Night.
Pimblett admitted that with the new Paramount deal, he wanted to put on a show and knock out Gaethje. However, seeing how that turned out, he would approach a rematch completely differently.
"Yeah, if I fought him again, I'd shoot in within 10 seconds," Pimblett said on "How U Livin J Piven." "I'd love to get that rematch. If I fought him again, I'd shoot in in the first 10 seconds, put him on his back and choke his ass out."
Gaethje went on to dethrone Ilia Topuria in a stunning upset at UFC Freedom 250 in June. He has since mulled over the idea of retirement.
"I don't know if he'll even fight again," Pimblett said of Gaethje. "I think he will, but at the same time, I don't know, because he's never going to beat that high of winning the belt at the White House. Like my coaches said to me, 'If that was you in that situation, I'd tell you to retire.' There's no point in chasing something else when he's never going to get a better feeling than winning that belt at the White House."
After suffering his first octagon loss to Gaethje, Pimblett rebounded with a 52-second submission of Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329 . All signs appear to be pointing at a grudge match with Topuria next, but Pimblett would prefer fighting Gaethje again.
"I'd take a rematch with Gaethje before Ilia, because I want to be a world champion," Pimblett said. "I hate Ilia, don't get me wrong. Obviously, I'd rather beat Ilia than beat Justin, but Justin's got the belt and that's what we do it for: to be recognized as the best in the world, to be the undisputed champion. That's been my goal since I was 15, 16, so that's what I want to do."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Paddy Pimblett: If I rematched Justin Gaethje, 'I'd shoot in within 10 seconds'
Source: Sports
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