Paddy Pimblett has dismissed as false the long-running story that Conor McGregor came to his door during a night out in Liverpool in 2017. Speaking ahead of UFC 329, Pimblett said the tale never happened and that his mother's home security cameras would have captured any such visit.
Pimblett Calls McGregor Door Story 'A Load of S****'
“It's a load of s****. It never happened at all. When he was in Liverpool, people said that he knocked on me house,” Pimblett said. “Some people made it up that he wanted to fight me, some people made it up like he wanted to get me out to party with him. This is like 2017, I was still fighting on Cage Warriors, but I was still living in my mum's at the time, and she has cameras on the house, and no one knocked on our door. Unless he knocked on the wrong door.”
McGregor's Presence at UFC 329 Reduces Pressure
The Liverpool fighter, a lifelong fan of the city's football club, believes that McGregor's comeback fight against Max Holloway at UFC 329 has taken the spotlight off his own bout with Benoit Saint-Denis. “This is just another fight to me. I'm back in Vegas fighting again. It's just a lot less pressure this time because all the pressure's on Conor,” he explained.
Pimblett Open to Fighting McGregor This Year
Pimblett expressed interest in a potential fight with McGregor before the end of 2026, possibly at welterweight. “I would fight him after this fight, before the end of the year. I would love to have a little fight at welterweight, especially against someone who is a lightweight really. It would be a great night for me, a great camp, great weight-cut and I would love to fight him. It has been spoken about for years, but you don't know what is going to happen. I have just got to beat the man who is in front of me at the minute – and his name is BSD.”
Pimblett Sends Message to Lightweight Champion Gaethje
Pimblett also addressed Justin Gaethje, who defeated him for the interim lightweight title last time out and later became the undisputed lightweight champion by stopping Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250. “Obviously I would love a rematch, but it is one of them – I don't demand things and don't say 'I want this, I want that,' so you have just got to beat who is in front of you.”
Focus on Saint-Denis and Lightweight Division
Ahead of his return to the octagon in Las Vegas, Pimblett emphasised the depth of the lightweight division. “You can't look past any opponents in the UFC. Everyone is coming to kill you, to take your head off. There is no way that you can look past people. The division is still stacked, as always. You have got Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, Max – still multiple people ahead of me in the rankings that I need to beat, so we just have to move on from there and see who is next.”
