England’s Paddy Pimblett vowed “you haven’t seen the last of me” after defeat to American Justin Gaethje in their UFC interim lightweight championship thriller in Las Vegas.
Gaethje got the nod from the judges after a relentless five-rounder, winning via unanimous decision as the scores came back 48-47 49-46 and 49-46, with Pimblett’s seven-bout winning run in UFC ended.
The Liverpudlian said afterwards: “You live and you learn; I’m 31, I will be back better. You haven’t seen the last of me.
“I wanted to be walking away with that belt. I know how tough I am and I don’t need to prove that to anyone.
“There is no man I’d rather lose to than [Gaethje]. He is someone I loved watching growing up and it shows why he is a legend.
“I think 48-47 was a fair scorecard. I won’t lie, he hit me with a body shot in the first round and it got me. I thought I was winning the round up to that point.
Pimblett suffered an eye poke in the first round
‘Paddy is right – Scousers do not get knocked out!’
An accidental eye poke on Pimblett in the first round saw the ring doctor enter the octagon but he was deemed fit to continue and traded with Gaethje across the next two rounds.
He was dropped in the final seconds of the second round but survived and rallied in the third while bloodied and bruised, although his momentum was halted by a low blow.
Pimblett was on the back foot in the fourth only to respond with a late flurry, while the final round saw the Englishman look to take his opponent down as Gaethje landed strikes.
The judges’ scores came back 48-47 49-46 and 49-46 as Gatthje (left) won the interim title
Pimblett’s push for a late knockout came in vain before the fighters embraced in a show of respect, with Gaethje saying: “Paddy is right – Scousers do not get knocked out!
“I knew I had to put him on his back foot. He is very dangerous and has great timing. I had to steal his momentum and confidence.”
Gaethje is now interim champion for the second time and will face Ilia Topuria once he returns from a personal break.
