Inside Paddy Pimblett’s game plan to beat Justin Gaethje at UFC 324

Exclusive: Nathan Fletcher and Luke Riley give the inside track on how their Next Gen MMA team-mate Pimblett will beat Gaethje to claim UFC interim gold this weekend

Paddy Pimblett could get his hands on interim lightweight gold this Saturday as he takes on Justin Gaethje in UFC 324’s blockbuster main event - and those who know the Liverpudlian best have detailed exactly how he’ll get it done.

Pimblett (23-3, 6 KOs) is one of the UFC’s most marketable fighters, something which has contributed to the 31-year-old being catapulted into a title shot against all-time great Gaethje (26-5, 19 KOs).

“The Baddy” has gone on a seven-fight win streak since his debut in 2021 and while he boasts impressive victories over the likes of Michael Chandler and King Green, his resume is not as stacked as some of his fellow contenders - number one-ranked Arman Tsarukyan included - leading some fans to argue that such an opportunity is undeserved.

However, Pimblett’s team-mates Luke Riley and Nathan Fletcher, both of whom also fight in the UFC, retain full confidence he is destined for glory at the lightweight mountain top, revealing his methods of destruction to The Independent.

“With Gaethje, I can imagine that's the type of fight where because Gaethje’s got good anti-grappling, good wrestling and using his wrestling to keep the fight on the feet, I think that Paddy will have a similar game plan to how he fought Chandler,” says Fletcher, who fights out of Merseyside-based gym Next Gen MMA alongside Pimblett.

“He’ll pick him off, move, kick the legs, beat him up, make him miss, and then cause damage essentially. I think he stops him.”

There remains a burning desire within Next Gen for Pimblett to fight formidable lightweight king Ilia Topuria, who has stepped away from the Octagon for a period due to personal reasons.

The seeds of a feud between the pair have long been planted, with Pimblett telling The Independent of a mutual hatred between the pair, and Fletcher believes the added aspect of a title unification will make the eventual fight with “El Matador” that much more special.

Paddy Pimblett (right) facing off with Ilia Topuria (Getty Images)

“The fight I want to see obviously is Paddy-Ilia,” Fletcher adds. “I think that's the fight to make.

“He has to go through Gaethje first, I think it's another big name, a legend of the sport, another good name for Paddy to take out, and then that will only make the Topuria fight even bigger.

“We’ll see what happens, but whatever happens, it's very exciting, very exciting times.”

Riley, who produced a stunning knockout to win his UFC debut in March, has backed Pimblett to derail Topuria’s stunning run at the UFC’s pinnacle, which has seen the Georgian-Spaniard knock out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira on his way to double-champion status.

“If he fights Paddy, he’s getting beat, 100 percent,” Riley says.

“I think he just mixes his stuff up a lot better and I reckon he just comes in with a way better game-plan than anyone else who has fight him. Through fight IQ, game-planning and size, that’s it.”

Fletcher also gave an insight into Pimblett’s training regiment, something that has been questioned over the years due to the Liverpudlian’s tendency to “balloon up” in between fights.

But having been right beside him throughout his rise, Fletcher has hailed Pimblett’s commitment to the cause and is ready to see him prove the doubters wrong once again.

Nathan Fletcher has hailed Pimblett’s work ethic (Getty)

“Paddy’s one of those guys who's always in the gym, he's always training,” he reveals.

“It might not be what people think because he balloons up after fights, that's just because he likes his food, but he's always in the gym week after week, sparring, training, getting better.

“He has been [written off] his whole career since he got in the UFC, people have always had stuff to say about Paddy, like he’s not this good, or this person will beat him, or his chin’s in the air so he’ll get caught by this person. And then time and time again, he comes out and proves them all wrong.”