Paddy Pimblett wants a level playing field ahead of the biggest fight of his career to date.
In the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC 314 from Miami, Florida, Liverpool native Pimblett will take on veteran fighter Michael Chandler in a bout viewed as pivotal to both men’s future title aspirations at 155-pounds.
In Chandler, Pimblett faces an opponent who has been described at time by some opponents as being a so-called ‘dirty’ fighter — and speaking to the media on Wednesday, including The Mac Life, ‘The Baddy’ says that he is expecting Chandler to bend the rules during their fight, but has called on the fight official to ensure fairness throughout the five-round contest.
“He’s the nicest man in the world outside the cage, and when he gets in there he’s a dirty bastard, isn’t he?” Pimblett said.
“I always say if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying, so I understand what he’s trying to do. He wants to win. That’s the main thing when it comes to this game, but yeah, I probably will mention the referee in the back like, ‘If he’s going to grab my gloves, I’m going to say it. If he tries to poke me in the eye and stuff like that.'”
He added: “That one against Charles [Oliveira] when he punched him in the back of the head about nine times or something and ref, I hope that’s not my referee. Just put it that way.
“I hope I get a good ref like Goddard or Herzog. I don’t want to have a ref that’s just going to let me get rabbit punched in the back of the head consistently.”
