While a lot of people have the UFC London lightweight matchup between Jordan Leavitt and Paddy Pimblett circled on their fight cards, the former doesn’t think the bout — at least, on paper — is all that interesting.
Of course, Leavitt has a process in mind with how it will all play out this Saturday at the O2 Arena.
“Finish the fight, twerk, go home,” Leavitt predicted while speaking with reporters in London at media day.
“We’re hyping this fight up, but not in the right way. It’s a little homoerotic, if that’s alright to say. We have similar vibes, similar charisma.”
Leavitt is unapologetically who he is, and he’s not planning on changing for anybody. So if he says something — such as the possibility of twerking happening in London — that’s just who Leavitt is as a person.
So when such statements become viral, it’s a little shocking to Leavitt, who will look to improve to 4-1 inside the octagon.
“I say a lot of silly things, and I said that and it sort of got all out of control,” Leavitt said. “It fits me, it fits my message, and I’ve talked about twerking a lot in the past few months — more than I ever thought I would — so that’s kind of cool.
“If you separate all of the flash from this fight, it’s not very interesting at all. I don’t follow him on social media and I didn’t really know anything about Paddy since his debut, so I don’t think I’ll be starstruck. I don’t see him as a star. He’s just a guy who is [2-0] in the UFC, a guy who has fought guys with losing records in the UFC. I’m just trying to separate the fight from the flash, and on paper, I’m not too interested in this matchup.
“I fought a grappler in my last fight, and those tend to lead to boring fights, and I’m not going to make the mistakes his other opponents have made — if I take him down, I’m not going to let him up, if I hurt him, I’m not going to turn off the pressure. He’s not the most accurate striker, he has one real knockout, he’s a regional champ, and I’ve done all of those things before.”
Pimblett will make his third promotional appearance and has certainly garnered a lot of interest since signing with the UFC. “The Baddy” has finished both of his UFC fights via first-round submission.
While Leavitt has learned to understand Pimblett’s approach to building a fight, he just doesn’t see a world where Pimblett will show him anything he hasn’t already seen.
“I’m not impressed with a lot of things,” Leavitt explained. “I’ve sparred with champions, I’ve sparred with contenders, and I’ve seen everything. I’ve sparred over 20 rounds a week for 10 years, I’ve never been dropped by anyone my size, I’ve never been hurt in any of my fights, and the only time I’ve been cut was by a headbutt.
“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, I really like him, and I think he’s really entertaining. I’m kind of a fan now with his interviews, but it’s just work.”