Paddy Pimblett has muscled his way into the record books. At UFC 329 in Las Vegas, he sank in a D'Arce choke to land the second-fastest finish of its kind in UFC history, sending Benoît Saint Denis to sleep inside the opening round after only a handful of seconds.
The result carried weight. Coming off a loss to Justin Gaethje, "The Baddy" restored his standing in the octagon in a heartbeat. Plenty had written that earlier fight off as a clear defeat, but Pimblett reads it another way. "I had a good fight with the champion... I think I lost 3-2," he countered.
Beating Saint Denis, in his eyes, is only the opening act. "As soon as I beat BSD, I'm back in title contention," he vowed. His sights are set higher still, with Ilia Topuria next in line. "I'd love to beat the poor little (man) up," he taunted.
Pimblett is back. One lightning strike was all it took to remind the world that a spot at the summit of the rankings is still his.
