Paddy Pimblett is already thinking ahead about improvements he can make before a potential lightweight title fight with Ilia Topuria.
‘The Baddy’ has not fought since his brutal finish against Michael Chandler in April to become the seventh-ranked lightweight in the UFC.
He has aimed to set up a lightweight title showdown with Topuria, whom Pimblett called out in the cage after the Spaniard’s impressive knockout of Charles Oliveira in June.
While he has received a scathing callout from contenders in the weight classes above, the Liverpudlian has yet to confirm his next opponent.
UFC star Paddy Pimblett chooses one area he needs to improve before a potential Ilia Topuria fight
Even after a back-and-forth with Arman Tsarukyan, where the Scouser snubbed him in favour of a UFC legend he would rather fight, it is unlikely that the two will square off because the Armenian may already have another bout lined up.
The 30-year-old wanted to face legend Justin Gaethje, but the American was only focused on fighting for the lightweight division’s top prize.
As he resumed his training to prepare for his next fight camp, the fighter revealed in a recent video on his YouTube channel that there is one aspect he has been struggling with in his recent sessions that he needs to improve.
Paddy said: “My striking time doesn’t feel there at the minute to be honest. Last week my striking time felt good, and I did five rounds with Luke (Riley).
“So it’s just probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Obviously, I’ve got to get that striking time better if I’m fighting out. That’s a lot of what I want to work on.”
‘El Matador’ is known as one of the organisation’s best boxers with six knockouts in his nine fights so far.
Liverpool’s own is not necessarily known for his striking and instead opts to use his grappling skills on the mat, having finished three of his seven UFC opponents by submission.
Paddy Pimblett makes a Khamzat Chimaev comparison during training for his next UFC fight
His grappling technique is the area that he is most confident in, and Pimblett has even made a comparison to the performance of Khamzat Chimaev against Dricus Du Plessis.
Chimaev used his elite wrestling to nullify the champion, rack up over 20 minutes of control time, and set a strikes record to become the new middleweight champion.
It was a showcase in which Paddy felt he could see similarities between his and the Chechen’s style.
“But my grappling always feels phenomenal. As you see in them rounds, when I get people on the floor, they don’t get up. I smother people like Khamzat against DDP at the weekend,” he said.
“Once I get you down and I’m on top of you and I’m smiling, you know you’re not getting up, lad. I’m controlling you. I’m making you feel my weight and making you feel some shots at the same time. When I get on top of someone, you’re not getting up.”
It was also mentioned by one of his coaches during the video that while they are waiting on a date, it will either be in ‘December or January’.