Paddy Pimblett plans to celebrate beating Tony Ferguson by ‘eating a greasy burger and watching Liverpool beat Man United’, as ‘The Baddy’ opens up on joy of his wedding and new motivation from unborn twins ahead of UFC 296

• Paddy Pimblett takes on Tony Ferguson in huge UFC 296 encounter on Saturday
• He spoke about his difficult time out and determination to prove critics wrong 
• Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett MUST seize his moment in the UFC 296 limelight after seeing his career stutter – The Hook 

Paddy Pimblett is relishing the prospect of a post fight burger and three points for his beloved if he beats at 296. 

‘The Baddy’ explained that he has already thought about how he’ll spend the hours after Saturday night’s big clash at T-Mobile Arena. 

Speaking at the UFC Apex HQ in Las Vegas on Wednesday, he said: ‘Before a ball was kicked, I said we’d win the league! I’ll beat Tony, have a big greasy burger, early night and then up to watch us beat the Mancs.’

Table-topping Liverpool meet their old rivals at Anfield, where season-ticket holder Pimblett would dearly love to perform, adding: ‘Summer 2024 or 2025, I want to fight at Anfield, I’ll put Dana in touch. It would mean more to me than winning a belt.’

Those dreams are on the back-burner for now and the task at hand is overcoming a veteran who many of the partisan crowd will be rooting for.  

Paddy Pimblett (right) is back in action this weekend a year after beating Jared Gordon 

Pimblett tied the knot with now wife Laura in the summer, which helped give him a boost

Pimblett is a huge Liverpool fan and wants to fight at Anfield in the next couple of years

It has been a long road back to another fight week for Pimblett, who injured his ankle in the controversial decision victory over Jared Gordon a year ago. 

He had to stew on the sidelines while seeing many fans lambast his performance.

Pimblett’s recovery and the early days after surgery were especially difficult. He revealed: ‘First couple of months were tough, I couldn’t walk properly, a boot on until mid may. 

‘My foot got infected and I went to hospital and I was sleeping downstairs because I couldn’t get upstairs. Where I have artificial ligaments, if the infection reached that I’d have to have the whole surgery again.’

But major milestones in his personal life helped get Pimblett back on track. ‘Things perked up after I got married,’ he added. ‘My missus is pregnant with twins so I’ve got something else to look forward to as well. 

‘If I don’t win this I get half the money, Tony could take food out my unborn kids mouths, that won’t happen. I am going to watch my children be born and I can’t wait to meet my little girls.’

Pimblett (top centre) said he thought Liverpool would win the league at the start of the season

Pimblett scored a contentious win over Jared Gordon during his last outing in the UFC

UFC veteran Ferguson is on a six-fight losing streak heading into the bout with Pimblett

So what of Ferguson? The MMA legend has lost six in a row, albeit against top opposition, and is desperate not to see his career fizzle out. 

Pimblett went on: ‘It is an honour to fight Tony. I was watching him as a 15 year old. It’s that cliche “when your heroes become your rivals”. Even I want to see him go out on a win but not at my expense. 

‘What happens when you get to that age, you slow down. He has relied on athleticism and speed to get out of trouble in the past but can’t now. I’m preparing for the version of him that beat Pettis and Cerrone. He’s blocked me on social media, bit of a weird one, I’m in his head.’

Ferguson’s head has been the subject of much speculation in the weeks leading up to this one. His extreme training with form US Navy SEAL David Goggins – pushing him to the point of vomiting – led to critics claiming he is overthinking and overtraining. 

For Pimblett, it will make no difference because one of Ferguson’s great strengths has always been his toughness anyway, not that it is changing the Liverpudlian’s assessment of the fight as ‘lose-lose’. 

He added: ‘Ferguson has always been mentally tough, if the Goggins thing is what he feels he has to do then power to him but it won’t make a difference.

‘If I win, they’ll say Ferguson is washed up on a six-fight losing streak. If somehow I lose, then they’ll say I should be cut for losing to a washed up Ferguson.’

The last 12 months have weighed heavy on Pimblett and it is not entirely surprising for him to speak negatively about the match-up. 

That said, it will be another important stepping stone for ‘The Baddy’, the attention of a massive card and step towards top 15 opposition is the logical next move. 

Lose-lose it may be in his eyes at the moment but he’ll be able to attack 2024 with a new lease of life if he can remind fans of his appeal on Saturday night. 

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