Paddy Pimblett versus Diego Sanchez was surely not the MMA beef you were expecting to heat up this week.
Despite competing in the UFC just once in 2021, England’s Pimblett (17-3) made a major splash. His hype as a former Cage Warriors champion and two-division talent preceded him. So did his brash trash talk and bold proclamations. And he backed up that intrepid persona in Sept. with a first-round knockout of Luigi Vendramini in his Octagon debut.
Shining under the UFC spotlight led to fans calling him the next big UFC star, it landed him an ambassador deal with Barstool Sports, and he was declared the UFC’s best signing of 2021 by Fansided. Pimblett’s confidence right now is sky high and he won’t take any guff from anybody in the industry. Including a UFC Hall-of-Famer and the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 Diego Sanchez.
In a Twitter post on Sunday, the lightweight posted a picture of what was Sanchez (30-13) allegedly calling him a clown in a social media comment. Well, “The Baddy” was not going to let the clown talk go unanswered and fired back at the Octagon great by calling him a “has been,” an MMA “laughing stock,” and threatened to slap him if ever talked negatively about him again.
Paddy Pimblett calls Diego Sanchez a has been and threatens to slap him
Come at the king….. you best not miss 🤭 @DiegoSanchezUFC pic.twitter.com/PRkzSsmaYs
— Paddy The Baddy (@theufcbaddy) January 9, 2022
“Lad r u really trying to call me a clown?! Go get brainwashed by that Fabia dude again like he’s ur cult leader u dumb mother f*cker ur the laughing stock of this whole sport! Ever talk shit about me again u f*cking has been I slap ur ass up,” Pimblett wrote [h/t Bloodyelbow].
Sanchez has had a difficult go of it over the last four-plus years. His UFC career ended in 2021 after he was deemed medically unfit for a May fight against former teammate Donald Cerrone, and his then-coach Joshua Fabia got the duo in hot water with the promotion after requesting “The Nightmare’s” medical records from his last 16 years in the UFC.
This all came on the heels of losing four of seven fights, which included several under the tutelage of Fabia and his bizarre training methods. The original TUF champion also had a battle with COVID-19 last year that required hospitalization.
Sanchez is expected to make his combat sports return in March for Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Eagle FC promotion, in a 165-pound against fellow UFC castoff Kevin Lee.
Pimblett is currently on a three-fight win streak. His next appearance in the Octagon is still to be determined.
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