Footage of Him Tapping Out in His Own Gym Ahead of UFC 324

Paddy Pimblett has lost a five-year unbeaten streak in his famous gym after tapping out during a recent grappling tournament in Liverpool — just weeks before his first-ever UFC title fight.

On the 24th of January, The Baddy will face Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 for the interim lightweight title at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, with the winner of the main event expected to challenge regular-title holder Ilia Topuria when he returns to action later in the year.

Known for dramatically increasing his weight between fights, Pimblett’s preparation is always a topic of discussion, and now that a video of the Scouser tapping out just before his bout with Gaethje has emerged online, that is unlikely to change.

Paddy Pimblett’s Gym Tournament Ends in Defeat

Taking place in the Next Generation MMA gym in Liverpool, famous for producing the likes of Pimblett, Molly McCann, and rising star Luke Riley, the former competed against his teammates in the annual ‘King of the Mat’ competition, a last-man-standing grappling tournament that has seen Pimblett emerge victorious for the last five years.

Last year, Pimblett, renowned for his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, was declared joint-winner after he and his training partner, Matty Holmes, cancelled each other out in a gruelling hour-long final. Such a close match-up led to Paul Rimmer, Next Generation’s head coach, deciding to split the tournament’s cash prize between the pair.

This year, however, the 31-year-old could not make it six wins in a row after he was defeated in the final by BJJ black belt Aaron Jordan, who caught Pimblett in a calf slicer and forced the UFC star to quickly tap out.

As he submitted, Pimblett can be seen briefly holding his left knee in pain as he rolled on the floor, but he made a quick recovery and shook hands with the new King of the Mat Jordan, who then donated his £720 winnings to a local charity.

Paddy Pimblett Reacts to Submitting in Gym

Understandably, his main focus is on Justin Gaethje

Speaking to Next Gen’s YouTube channel after the final, Pimblett said: “I couldn’t have lost it to a nicer person. He’s a f****** belter fella lad, and he’s been training hard for years. He’s a high-level black belt, so to lose to him is no shame.”

Before the final, however, The Baddy explained that he was not feeling 100% for the BJJ tournament thanks to the tough preparations for his title fight with Gaethje.

The Liverpool fighter said: “I’m not gonna lie, I don’t know if I can be a**** tonight. I’ve gotta beat Justin Gaethje up in five weeks. I’ve sparred five rounds today, did pads before it, and did 10×3 on boxing pads.”

Thankfully for Pimblett, he got through the tournament unscathed, so he should be good to go in the mega-money clash with Gaethje, who, it should also be said, does not boast a brilliant grappling game — throughout his 31-fight career in the UFC, the American has landed just one takedown, coming in his victory against Rafael Fiziev all the way back in March 2023.