Paddy Pimblett ‘HAS to make a statement’ against Tony Ferguson at UFC 296, claim Alex McCarthy and Charlotte Daly on The Hook… as they insist Las Vegas bout is the ‘real shop window’ for the British star

• Paddy Pimblett and Tony Ferguson will face-off on the UFC 296 main card 
• The bout could prove crucial to the career progression of the British star 
• Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett MUST seize his moment in the UFC 296 limelight after seeing his career stutter – The Hook 

Paddy Pimblett has been urged to ‘make a statement’ during his fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 on the Saturday night. 

Paddy ‘The Baddy’ will return to the octagon for the first time since his contentious win over Jared Gordon in December 2022 – where he snuck a victory via unanimous decision. 

His opponent, Ferguson, is known as a veteran in the UFC however has endured a difficult run in recent years and, heading into the bout, has lost six in a row. 

It’s a prime opportunity for Pimblett to remind fans of why there were such high expectations for him when he entered the UFC, which was suggested by Alex McCarthy and Charlotte Daly on The Hook. 

Speaking on the podcast, McCarthy said: ‘Heralded as like the next Conor McGregor in many ways, I think it is fair to say his career has kind of stuttered the last couple of fights. 

Paddy Pimblett has been urged to ‘make a statement’ during his fight with Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 on the Saturday night

UFC veteran Ferguson is on a six-fight losing streak heading into the bout with Pimblett

‘Yeah, he’s got the victories, but they weren’t as emphatic or as impressive as he really needed at this point. Fighting a lightweight legend like Ferguson, on a five or six fight skid or not, this is a real shop window for Pimblett’.

Daly, similarly, agreed with those sentiments and insisted that the Liverpudlian fighter ‘has to make a statement’ against his American counterpart. 

She said: ‘Yeah, definitely. I think Pimblett has that star appeal, that attraction, as you mentioned there, the similarities to McGregor when he was starting out. 

‘But this will be a big test for Paddy and I know Tony is on the decline, but this is Pimblett’s first fight since picking up an ankle injury in his win against Jared Gordon, which, you know, brought his kind of upward trajectory to that grinding halt. 

‘I think this will be a test for the fact that Ferguson is by far the most experienced and notable fighter that Paddy ‘The Baddy’ has fought. So of course, when there’s experience that comes into play, it gives them an element that perhaps he hasn’t seen in the past. 

‘So I think it will be exciting. I do think that Paddy has to make a statement. And I think he will make a statement. 

‘He has said in some press things in the buildup to this that he’s not that excited about the fight. He said that it’s a lose-lose situation for him because he either wins it and everyone says “Well, yeah, you should have won that”, or he loses it and everybody grills him for losing it’.

Pimblett scored a contentious win over Jared Gordon during his last outing in the UFC

Many thought that Gordon won the fight despite Pimblett winning via unanimous decision

McCarthy continued: ‘Tony Ferguson, yeah, he’s lost six on the bounce but before that, he had the longest winning streak in lightweight history. And everybody was pining to see him and Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. 

‘That was the banner fight at 135 pounds. It’s difficult to go from the stature that he had to where he is now. And it’s tough for MMA fans to kind of see the decline for Tony Ferguson. 

‘But, also, Ferguson’s got nothing to lose in many ways. He’s still the big name. He still has all of the crossover appeal and the money for Pimblett to get a win over him, whatever state he’s in, is still the biggest name on his record. 

‘It’s still the gateway to fight in some really top ranked fighters. If he gets a victory over Ferguson, more people will take notice than at any other point in his career thus far, regardless of where Ferguson is’.

Ferguson will be the biggest and most reputable name on Pimblett’s fighting resume

Similarly to both McCarthy and Daly, UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall weighed in on the bout and claimed ‘The Baddy’ will manage to get it done. 

Weighing in on the bout, Aspinall said: ‘I think the Baddy takes it. I think that if someone’s coming in off six losses and Paddy’s coming in off around six seven wins… 

‘I know Paddy’s off the back of surgery and everything but I think that Paddy is way younger and fresher than Tony Ferguson. Ferguson has got a lot of miles on a clock. 

‘Granted, he’s a really good fighter but I think he’s time as fighting young and fresh guys is over for him and I think that he’s going to win that fight pretty handily’.

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