Paddy Pimblett had an explosive sophomore effort in the UFC with a quick finish over Kazula Vargas. Everyone sees the star power in the Englishman, including former heavyweight, Brendan Schaub.
Brendan Schaub recapped UFC London on his podcast and the subject of Paddy Pimblett came up. He sees the star power and believes the Englishman may not even need the UFC in order to be a star.
“He could have sold this thing out himself. It’s still not in the UFC, and until you’re in the UFC, it’s a different animal. Whether he could’ve sold out the same arenas that Anthony Joshua does, and that’s all fine. But, it wasn’t the UFC, it’s a different animal, so that’s the one thing I had questions about. But then, when Paddy walks out, you realize who the kind of alpha male is as far as star power goes.”
Schaub continued, “That arena was going nuts. This kid, it’s like when Conor [McGregor] was coming up, he just has that X-factor. It’s like the moment can’t get big enough for him. He thinks this is exactly what he should be doing, and he’s going down the exact path he planned for himself.”
It will have to be seen if Brendan Schaub and others are right about Paddy Pimblett's potential now that he is with the huge organization. Comparing him to Conor McGregor comes with a lot of pressure but so does fighting in front of millions now that you're in the UFC, only time will tell what happens.