Urijah Faber backs Justin Gaethje to hand Paddy Pimblett his first defeat in the competition Octagon.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s transition from ESPN to Paramount officially kicks off on January 24, when the promotion presents its first back-to-back premium live events. In the headliner of UFC 324, Pimblett will face Gaethje, the winner who emerges as interim world lightweight champion.
As it stands, Pimblett is a slight favorite to come out on top, with a score of -230 in sports books. However, not everyone agrees with the oddsmakers.
“Man, I gotta go with Gaethje,” Faber said Helen Yee in a recent interview. “I feel like he’s the one who enjoys a knockdown and dragout more than the other guy. Not that Paddy Pimblett doesn’t like to fight, it’s just that Gaethje likes to actually get down and throw fist for fist. And he also has the Division I wrestling to negate some of Paddy’s greatest skills.
“Paddy is a very dominant wrestler when it comes to submissions and being aggressive with them. I think Gaethje has the tools to keep it where he wants it and I think that will give him the edge.”
Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje enter UFC 324 with a lot of momentum
Paddy enters his first title shot with a perfect 7-0 record inside the Octagon, although his strong schedule has been the subject of debate. His most notable wins were against Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler, with a first round win over King Green sandwiched in between.
Meanwhile, Gaethje has won two of his last three, including a pair of decision victories over Rafael Fiziev and a head-kick KO against Dustin Poirier.
Gaethje has already captured interim gold in the lightweight division, defeating Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 in May 2020. He failed to trade the interim title for undisputed gold later that same year, but a win over ‘The Baddy’ will give Gaethje another chance to etch his name in the 155-pound history books.
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