Las Vegas, NV — Despite Elon Musk’s reported amnesty on banned Twitter accounts, don’t expect to see UFC 282 co-headliner Paddy Pimblett back on the platform any time soon.
Pimblett (19-3) infamously called out Mark Zuckerberg after Instagram banished him earlier this year. There’ll be no such callout of Musk, however, who recently purchased Twitter and promised to restore access to scores of banished accounts.
“Nah, I don’t want Twitter back, lad. Twitter’s a cesspit,” Pimblett told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s UFC 282 media day. “Twitter gets me in trouble. People interpret things that I say and twist it, and make it sound like I’ve said something I haven’t, and make me look bad when I’ve never said any of those things. People just misinterpret what I say on purpose to make me look bad. Digging tweets up from like 2018 and 2019 to try and make me look bad. I’d rather not have Twitter back, lad. Gets me in too much trouble.”
It was a busy day for Paddy Pimblett on Wednesday. He had his media day appearance, and aired an episode of his Podcast that accused The MMA Hour’s Ariel Helwani of “making money” off fighters. With this weekend’s UFC 282 lacking star power, that has arguably become the biggest story of the week in the MMA realm. And whatever your stance on Pimblett and his apparent confusion on how journalism works (he went on record to claim fighters should be paid for media appearances, an ethics no-no), it’s clear “The Baddy” is the star of the show.
That’s no surprise to the Liverpool native.
“I always said I’m going to be the biggest star in this sport. None of it takes me by surprise,” he said on Wednesday, asked if all the attention, including fans mobbing him, ever became too much. “I’ll stop and give anyone my time, as long as they use their manners. I don’t like when people are rude, that’s it. As long as people say please, and they don’t just headlock me and try to take a selfie, I’ll take time out of my day to speak to anyone. Because without them fans, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Attention does not equal success, or respect, however. And Pimblett still feels people aren’t taking him seriously even after three straight wins in the UFC.
“They’re not though. They’re not. It’s cheeky lad. People still aren’t taking me for real. No one respects me, and it does piss me off. But I’ve just got to get on with that, lad. People don’t respect the come-up, simple as.”
That may change following UFC 282, if things go as planned for Pimblett. On the topic of breakout performances, he predicted his would come against Jared Gordon.
“This is gonna be this fight. This fight is gonna be my breakout performance.” Citing Luigi Vendramini as his best performance — “He gets a bad rap, lad” — and expressing disappointment with some of his own past outings, Pimblett added “people are gonna see the improvements I’ve made in the past 15 months since I’ve signed with the UFC. Like, yous are gonna see.”
So buckle up for another big night for Liverpool, then. Along with Paddy Pimblett, Darren Till also represents the English city on the card. Back home, it’s “just me and Darren Till on the billboards everywhere, saying ‘Scouse takeover,'” Pimblett told Cageside Press. “And it is. I know I’m going to get my win. Hopefully Darren gets his win, and there’s a Scouse takeover.”
Paddy Pimblett faces Jared Gordon in the co-main event of UFC 282 this Saturday, December 10, 2022 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
