Pimblett (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was beaten and outmatched in a unanimous decision loss to Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) for the interim lightweight title in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 324 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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Johnson thought Pimblett had a big advantage in the fight, but was surprised when “The Baddy” abandoned that and decided to stand and negotiate.
“I’m surprised Paddy didn’t shoot with both legs,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel. “With how good his grappling is, I’m very surprised by that. It’s MMA. You have such a clear advantage over someone in a grappling. I just feel like he has it, but he can’t take it there. You don’t have the damn hands to knock him out.
“And he’s moving away, for someone with a good grip, it’s like, go under, shoot for a takedown. Stop trying to grab him. He’s trying to fight a bull, but you don’t have the power to beat him. The bull is strong there, shoot. He shot when he was hurt, he didn’t shoot when he was fresh. Paddy’s tough as nails, I’ll give him that.”
Pimblett showed grit after being knocked down several times in the early rounds, but recovered to win Round 3. However, Gaethje proved to be too much over the five rounds as he managed to capture his second interim UFC lightweight title.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Demetrious Johnson surprised by Paddy Pimblett’s game plan at UFC 324