Paddy Pimblett impresses in dominant win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 296
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, December 16, 2023, for UFC 296, the final event of the year going down live from the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Headlining the event is a welterweight title bout between UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards (21-3) and no. 3 ranked former interim champion Colby Covington (17-3).
Co-headlining the event is also a title bout, this one coming at 125 lbs between UFC flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja (26-5) and no. 2 ranked Brandon Royval (15-6).
Our first feature fight of the evening came in the lightweight division between former interim champion Tony Ferguson (25-10) and former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Paddy Pimblett (21-3).
Following a 12-fight win streak from 2013 to 2019, Ferguson came into the bout on a six-fight skid, while Pimblett, despite the controversial decision win over Jared Gordon in his most recent appearance, came in having gone 4-0 thus far into his promotional tenure.
Continue reading to see how this lightweight showcase went down:
Official Result: Paddy Pimblett def. Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Pimblett comes out with a kick-heavy gameplan early on, first opening up with a head kick attempt before mixing them up between the legs and body of the former interim champion. Ferguson starts to get his hands going and tags Pimblett up a bit, though none of the punches seem to affect the Englishman.
Pimblett then starts to get combinations of his own off, and they seem to have more effect than the punches coming his way. He wobbles Ferguson twice in the second half of round one, the second time of which he follows up with a flying knee that drops Ferguson. From here Pimblett mauled Ferguson from top position, reigning down heavy ground-and-pound until the buzzer sounds.
Pimblett catches a head kick early on in the second and takes Ferguson down, remaining on top for the remainder of the round. He does get bloodied up from top position, but also gives up a lot of offense of his own.
Pimblett looks exhausted at the start of the third and final round, Ferguson pressing the action and tagging him up with punches. Pimblett ducks under and secures a beautiful single leg takedown just at the right moment however and continues to dominate the fight from top position.
Paddy Pimblett improves to 5-0 inside the octagon tonight at UFC 296.
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