Paddy Pimblett predicts he will KO Justin Gaethje: “I don’t see him getting past the third round”

Paddy Pimblett foresees a finish transpiring in his Justin Gaethje fight and envisions that stoppage coming by way of strikes. Piblett and Gathej are set to do battle for the interim UFC lightweight title in their headlining bout at UFC 324 in January.

During an interview with Red Corner MMA, with an excerpt of the chat posted to the X account @Home_of_Fight, as Pimblett said,

“I think everyone’s going to be shocked to be honest because I think I’m gonna knock him out. So people won’t expect that. People think I’m just gonna grapple and take him down, but I’m not. I’m going to come out and I’m going to put it on him.”

When asked if he expected an early knockout or a late knockout,

“I don’t see him getting past the third [round], just like [Michael] Chandler.”

Paddy Pimblett would consider himself a UFC champ if he beats Justin Gaethje for the interim belt

While some fighters don’t consider an interim title a legitimate championship and more of a way to punch their ticket for a shot at the real thing, Paddy Pimblett is not one of those fighters. This was indicated by the former Cage Warriors veteran recently as Pimblett wouldn’t seem to consider UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria to be the kingpin of the division while the Spanish-Georgian MMA fighter is on a competitive hiatus presently.

Topuria is out due to personal reasons, and as his long-time rival Paddy Pimblett touched on the two-division UFC champion‘s current situation outside of the cage, during an interview with Full Send MMA, Pimblett stated [via Sherdog],

“Obviously, me and Ilia might not like each other, but I wish him nothing but the best with all his family s**t. It’s nothing to do with fighting. But when I win this belt, I’m the champ for now. I don’t care if it says interim on it. I’m the champ, Ilia is out of the cage.”