Where was Paddy Pimblett’s grappling at UFC 324? ‘I don’t think his game plan was the greatest’

Paddy Pimblett proved to the world that he’s one tough S.O.B. on Saturday night at UFC 324. But that trait wasn’t enough to win him the interim lightweight title. Instead, Justin Gaethje was awarded the championship strap with 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 scores (video highlights here). Pimblett was left with a busted up face and some platitudes about having that dawg in him.

But beyond dawg talk, what about some straight talk about “The Baddy’s” chosen game plan? Pimblett is a grappling specialist, while Gaethje’s submission defense remains one of the few chinks in his armor. So why was the vast majority of their fight waged on the feet where Justin thrives?

UFC CEO Dana White commented on Pimblett’s choice to fight on his feet at the UFC 324 post-fight press conference.

“So Paddy Pimblett at the weigh-in yesterday says, ‘I’m gonna knock this motherf–ker out tomorrow,’” White recalled. “And I was like, ‘That’s interesting.’ And he never abandoned that game plan. Even when he got dropped a couple times, I kept waiting for him, like, he’s eventually gonna have to shoot and try to submit him.”

“I don’t think that his game plan was the greatest,” White said. “Tonight, he showed he is tough and durable against a guy like Gaethje. If you can eat those punches from him? You know, it’s one thing to say, ‘I believe in my durability, in my chin, in my ability to go toe to toe with this guy.’ But when it starts to not work, at some point you have to say, ‘It’s the third round, I have two rounds left, I should probably try to take him down.'”

Former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson streamed himself watching the fight and raged over Pimblett’s lack of grappling offense.

“I’m shocked Paddy has not shot a double leg,” Johnson said. “For how good his grappling is, I’m very shocked by that. It’s MMA, you have such a clear advantage over somebody in a grappling. I just feel he does, but he can’t get him there. You don’t have the f–king hands to knock him out … Go underneath. Shoot a takedown. Stop trying to f–king grab. He’s trying to fight a bull but he doesn’t have the power to to beat the bull. The bull is strong there. Shoot!”

Of course, it’s not as simple as Pimblett not going for takedowns. Gaethje argues he was in there doing a great job of shutting his opponent’s grappling attempts down.

“I deserve some credit for stopping that from happening,” Gaethje said at the UFC 324 post-fight press conference. “I mean, there’s no doubt he wanted to get it there. But half of wrestling is stopping people from taking you down, and that’s what I was best at. So luckily, I was successful tonight from keeping him there.”

“Since [Charles] Oliveira choked me out, I’ve been putting a lot of work in. And it sucks that it’s part of the sport, but I have to do it.”