Whenever the UFC heads to the U.K., the company attempts to book the hottest names within that scene. The atmosphere gets electric as the crowd cheers for their favorites while enhancing the atmosphere of a UFC card.
The UFC’s upcoming visit to London will see familiar faces on July 22. Molly McCann, Nathaniel Wood, Davey Grant, and Lerone Murphy are just a few names that come to mind. The entire fight night airs on ESPN+ in the U.S.
There is a notable face missing from the action inside the O2 Arena.
Paddy Pimblett, one of the most electric fighters on the roster, will not compete on the card. “The Baddy” has not seen any action since his fight against Jared Gordon at UFC 292 in December. The unanimous decision win, deemed controversial by many, was the Liverpool-born fighter's third fight of 2022.
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A former Cage Warriors featherweight champion, Pimblett joined the UFC in 2021. He is 4-0 with the promotion and is on a six-fight win streak overall. The 28-year-old, known for his colorful personality, would have been a solid addition to the card, featuring the returning Tom Aspinall in the main event.
Where is Paddy Pimblett?
As mentioned above, Pimblett’s last fight was a win against Gordon in December. Pimblett suffered ankle ligament damage during the fight after checking a leg kick. Gordon landed 100 of 143 strikes compared to 97 of 194 for Pimblett in the fight. The former took Pimblett down three times and had over six minutes of control time.
Following the fight, Pimblett had a notable limp. He underwent ankle surgery in March, with his doctor telling him (via MMA Fighting) that a small amount of cartilage was lost and that he may have suffered a grade 2 injury.
Regarding a return on the UFC London card, or even this year in general, Pimblett did not sound confident when talking to Sky Sports.
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"I had to get surgery after my last fight. I hurt my foot in the first round, the first minute or two, threw a kick, and hurt it. I felt it but cracked on and got through the fight,” Pimblett said. “At the end of the fight, I can remember going back to the medical room and saying, 'my foot's sore here'. I couldn't get it looked at properly until I got back home. It was a lot worse than they thought.
"I had to get inner and outer ligament surgery, reconstruction. So it's big. I have already been on the crutches for six-and-a-half weeks, it could be another six weeks. I'll be lucky to fight this year.”
As of now, there is no timetable for Pimblett’s return to the octagon.