LAS VEGAS – UFC president Dana White was critical of Paddy Pimblett’s opponent in the co-main event of UFC 282.
Jared Gordon went the distance with Pimblett in a tight three-round contest. However, the official judges’ scorecards caused quite a stir in the MMA community when Pimblett was announced as the unanimous winner, as many believed Gordon did enough to win the fight.
While White didn’t explicitly say who he thought deserved the nod in the bout, he does believe Gordon has no one to blame but himself for being on the wrong end of the decision.
“Gordon had a horrible gameplan going into that third round,” White told reporters at the post-fight news conference. “You think he won the first two rounds? With the judges? How do you know that? Why go in there and throw away the third round and not go in there and fight your ass off and try to win. If you think you know who won what round or whatever, you’re crazy. I’ve been doing this for 23 years. I have no f*cking idea what those guys are gonna do or what they’re gonna say.”
The first two rounds of the fight were mostly spent on the feet, with both fighters exchanging strikes as they covered all corners of the octagon. In the third round, Gordon went with a full-on wrestling attack that resulted in a largely-stalled clinch position for the majority of the round. White believes that the change in gameplan led to Pimblett picking up his fourth UFC victory, even though two of the official judges scored the last round for Gordon.
“He felt like he had the first two rounds and went in and pushed him against the fence,” White said about Gordon. “And I gotta go after the ref too. A big fight, a co-main event, third round, crowd’s going crazy and you’re gonna let them stand against the fence the entire fight? But these are these things that happen. What are you gonna do?
“Horrible gameplan by Gordon, the ref let it happen, and he threw the fight away. He was doing great in that fight. He should have fought the third round.”
With four wins in the UFC, Pimblett continues his rise in the lightweight division. Ilia Topuria, a featherweight who has differences with Pimblett, was suggested as a potential next opponent, but the UFC boss is out on that idea.
White sees Topuria shooting up the rankings at featherweight with designs on a title shot after his submission of Bryce Mitchell earlier in the evening, while Pimblett, who fought as a featherweight in his days with Cage Warriors, will await his next challenge at lightweight.
