It’s 8pm local time at UFC Qatar and things aren’t going particularly well for Next Gen MMA. Shem Rock has just been outpointed on his debut and, back home, Liverpool have just been demolished at Anfield by Nottingham Forest. Luke Riley, also a UFC debutant, is getting ready to enter the cage, tasked with raising spirits on what has thus far been a deflating night in Doha for the Merseyside-based gym.
“Shem had lost and Liverpool had lost. That’s the one thing Paddy did say: ‘You f***ing better win now.’” Those were the choice words of Paddy Pimblett, Riley’s team-mate with whom he shares a brother-like bond with. “We don’t need to have big motivational speeches. He knew what I was going to do,” Riley told The Independent. With one sharp left hook, the mood changed.
