‘People will talk about this entrance for the next 10-20 years!’: Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett promises ‘greatest walkout ever’ when he bounces to the octagon backed by trademark tune at UFC London
- Paddy Pimblett is taking on Rodrigo Vargas at UFC London on March 19
- ‘The Baddy’ made waves with his octagon debut with a round one KO last year
- All eyes will be on Liverpool lightweight once more and he promises fireworks
- Pimblett says his walkout will be iconic and remember for the next two decades
Paddy Pimblett has promised an iconic UFC London walkout that will be spoken about for the next 20 years.
The Liverpool fan favourite is set to bounce the octagon backed by his trademark mash-up of Lethal Industry by Tiësto and Heads Will Roll by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
And almost 20,000 fans will be bouncing along with him on March 19, moments before his second fight in the UFC.
Paddy Pimblett is preparing for his highly-anticipated second fight in the UFC
Rodrigo Vargas is the opponent this time and will hope to last longer than Pimblett’s first victim in the organisation, Luigi Vendramini, who was knocked out in the first round last September.
While Pimblett accepts that home advantage could matter for little when the cage door click shut, he is champing at the bit to entertain the home fans.
He told Sportsmail: ‘A fight is a fight for me lad. It doesn’t matter where it is at the end of the day. Obviously it is going to be great when I walk out, because Vargas is never going to have been in an atmosphere like that.
‘He’s going to be like “What is going on here, this is a festival”, this is like a festival with everyone screaming his name, that’s going to get to him. That’ll happen whererver I fight now when there’s a crowd.
The 02 Arena will play host and Pimblett has promised a memorable walkout
‘My tune gets people going and people want to see a fight. When you close that octagon door, there’s only me and him in there so there’s not much advantage at all but I’ve always wanted to come out with my tune in the UK.
He added: ‘It’s going to be the greatest entrance the UFC has ever seen and it isn’t even a title fight or contender fight. People will be talking about this entrance for the next 10-20 years.’
Pimblett is sharing the London card with some incredible British talent, including Tom Aspinall, who headlines against Alexander Volkov, and team-mate Molly McCann, who faces Luana Carolina.
The trio were on the same card for Pimblett’s debut and each took home $50,000 performance bonuses.
So what odds on another hat-trick? Pimblett went on: ‘Good shout lad, to be honest. I know I’m going to get a performance of the night bonus already. I’m going to finish this fella in the first round and get a performance of the night bonus.
Pimblett’s star is on the rise and he could be a force at the top of the lightweight division
‘Molly loves a scrap, if she turns up like she always does then she’s going to get one. To be honest, if Aspinall finishes Volkov, he’ll get one, so we could get three of them all over again.’
Vargas is 1-2 in the UFC but his last defeat was due to a disqualification. Pimblett expects to be able to dominate in all departments and is preparing for a short night’s work.
He went on: ‘I’ve watched some of Vargas, he’s not that technical, more about strength and a brawler. He’s fought at welterweight in the past so he’s going to be strong.
‘Now he’s at lightweight, everything is just strength based with him. On the feet, I’ll beat him up, on the ground I’ll school him even worse.
‘Wherever the fight goes, I’m ready, I’m planning on just beating him up nice and early, I’m not planning on taking a punch in this fight.’
Pimblett is taking on Vargas in one of the must-see fights at UFC London on a stacked card
UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VOLKOV vs. ASPINALL tickets go on sale from 10 a.m. GMT on Friday, February 4, via AXS and Ticketmaster.
To stay up to date with the latest ticketing information, register your interest via UFC.com/London.