It was business as usual for Paddy 'The Baddy' Pimblett on Saturday night as he cruised to a second round submission victory against Jordan Leavitt in the O2 Arena at UFC London.
After a slow start by his high standards, Pimblett was able to implement his grappling prowess, landing a huge knee in the clinch which was the beginning of the end for his American foe.
'The Baddy' soon transitioned to Leavitt's back and with the O2 crowd roaring him on, he was able to lock in a rear-naked choke to extend his record in the UFC to 3-0.
Paddy Pimblett set for US move
Pimblett is yet to main event a card in the UFC but was easily the most popular fighter on the bill, with chants of 'Oh Paddy the Baddy' echoing around the arena as fans departed.
His rise to stardom inevitably means the UFC are likely to move their new cash cow over the pay-per-view cards predominantly held in the United States and Pimblett agreed with the suggestion that Saturday's win would be his last appearance on home soil.
Pimblett said: "I know for a fact now I’ll be fighting on pay-per-views with Jon Anik, Joe Rogan and [Daniel Cormier] commentating. I know I won’t be fighting in The O2 again. It’s too small."
Despite questions over the O2's capacity, the UFC's primary venue in Las Vegas - The T-Mobile Arena - has a 20,000 limit for spectators albeit with much higher ticket prices.
It's also worth noting the UFC have not held a pay-per-view event in the United Kingdom since UFC 204 in 2016 when Michael Bisping defeated Dean Henderson.
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UFC Anfield
Only one UFC event has been held in Liverpool, with Darren Till defeating Steven Thompson in the main event at the now M&S Bank Arena in 2018, prior to Pimblett joining the promotion.
The Liverpool fan has long campaigned for the UFC to bring their show to a stadium in the UK, similar to huge boxing events staged at both Wembley and Goodison Park in recent years.
Liverpool FC received permission to host major events at Anfield in 2018 which seemingly made Pimblett's dream of fighting at Liverpool's iconic home a reality.
UFC president Dana White has been consistent in his view that the promotion will not be entertaining the prospect of a stadium in the UK but Pimblett believes he can convince him to change his mind.
"We will do Anfield," he vowed at the post-fight press conference on Saturday.
"I promise you now. Dana said he won’t do Anfield, but he also said women will never fight in the UFC, and Ronda Rousey came along. He said he won’t do a stadium in the U.K., but the Baddy’s come along, so he will."
During fight week, White suggested concerns over the British weather plays a huge part in his stance on a stadium event on British soil.
He said: "I'm not going outside. I'm definitely not going outside in f****** England. Listen, if you're going to go outside you go to Abu Dhabi where it's hot as hell and absolutely not going to rain.
"But I don't even like that. I don't like having any outside factors that can affect the fight. Heat, wind, any of that stuff that can hurt the outcome of a fight, I don't like."
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