UFC London: Jordan Leavitt Says He’s “Kind of a Fan” of Paddy Pimblett

London, England — “The Monkey King” is unquestionably heading into enemy territory at UFC London this Saturday, as Jordan Leavitt has been positioned as a potential foil for Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett.

The American has been game enough in promoting the fight, promising to “twerk” over Pimblett in celebration should knock his opponent out, while Paddy “the Baddy” promised to “teabag” him in return.

You’ll be forgiven if you’re confused as to whether this is a fight, or a game of Fortnite.

“We’re hyping the fight up, but not in the right way,” Leavitt (10-1) admitted during this week’s UFC London media day, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “A little homoerotic, if that’s okay to say.”

Leavitt admits that the entire fight hype situation and talk of twerking “kind of got out of control.” At the same time, however, he added that “it fits me, it’s on message. I’ve talked about twerking a lot over the past few months, a lot more than I thought I ever would. So that’s kind of cool.” Leavitt has even become something of a twerking teacher for other fighters. “It’s a twerking camp for sure.”

Curiously enough, despite the massive amount of attention the fight has garnered — no doubt in large part due to Pimblett’s high profile — Leavitt seems less than impressed by it all. “I feel like you separate all the flash for this fight, it’s not very interesting at all,” he stated. Leavitt never followed Pimblett on social media when the Brit first joined the UFC, and sees him as just another 2-0 guy in the promotion. “On paper, I’m not too interested in this match-up, to be honest.”

Pimblett, after all, is a grappler. As Leavitt went on to point out, “I fought a grappler in my last fight, and they lead to boring fights. And I think I’m a little too smart to make a lot of the mistakes that his opponents have made. If I take him down, I’m not letting him up. If I hurt him, I’m not going to let off the pressure. And he’s not the most accurate striker. He has one real knockout, and he’s a regional champ, and I’ve fought all those things before.”

“I’m not impressed with a lot of things. I’ve sparred champions, I’ve sparred title contenders, and I’ve seen everything. I’ve sparred 20 plus rounds every week for 10 years and the majority of those are striking rounds, so not even in my wheelhouse.”

That said, Leavitt also said he’s become something of a fan of Paddy Pimblett in the build-up to this fight. “We’ve done a lot of the same things, me and Paddy, but I’ve done it without taking any damage. No one knows about my chin because I don’t get hit. He’s a good fighter, and I really like him,  and I think he’s very entertaining and I’m kind of a fan. Like now, I like his interviews and all that, but it’s all just, it’s just work.”

Work or not, the plan for Saturday is simple. “Finish the fight, twerk, and go home.”

Watch the full UFC London media day appearance from Jordan Leavitt above. The event takes place this Saturday, July 23, 2022 at the O2 Arena in London, England.