Paddy Pimblett sees Justin Gaethje as his biggest threat in the lightweight division - NOT Conor McGregor or Charles Oliveira. 

The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion will take on Mexico's Rodrigo Vargas at UFC Fight Night 204, which takes place at The O2 Arena in London on March 19.  

Pimblett, 27, made short work of Brazilian MMA fighter Luigi Vendramini last September, registering a devastating first-round KO victory. 

The Liverpudlian also signed a massive seven-figure deal with Barstool Sports to help boost his profile in and out of the sport.

Pimblett currently boasts over one million followers combined across his official social media accounts. 

Given his growing popularity, it might not be too long before he starts mixing it with the likes of Gaethje, McGregor and Oliveira.  

And the man known as 'Paddy the Baddy' admitted the American's all-round skillset presents its own unique challenges. 

"He's got big powerful hands lad and his wrestling is very good," he explained. 

Justin Gaethje went to war with Michael Chandler

"I do think Justin Gaethje would give me the hardest fight of them all because he'd be hard to get to the floor and not many people want to strike with him to be honest.

"But at the same time he's my favourite fighter to watch so I probably wouldn't want to fight him for that reason because I like him so much."

Pimblett believes Vargas will be in for a real shock when he hears his iconic remix of Tiësto's 'Lethal Industry' and Yeah Yeah Yeah's 'Heads Will Roll' for the first time.

And he can't wait to make the walk to the octagon with the whole crowd bouncing to the tune next month.

"A fight is a fight for me lad," he added.

Paddy Pimblett will be back in action for the UFC on March 19

"It doesn't matter where it is at the end of the day.

"Obviously it is going to be great when I walk out, because Vargas is never going to have been in an atmosphere like that.

"He's going to be like, 'What is going on here, this is a festival', this is like a festival with everyone screaming his name, that's going to get to him.

"That'll happen wherever I fight now when there's a crowd.

"My tune gets people going and people want to see a fight.

Paddy Pimblett will take on Rodrigo Vargas at UFC London on March 19

"When you close that octagon door, there's only me and him in there so there's not much advantage at all but I've always wanted to come out with my tune in the UK.

"It's going to be the greatest entrance the UFC has ever seen and it isn't even a title fight or contender fight. People will be talking about this entrance for the next 10-20 years."

That's quite a bold statement coming from someone who only has one fight in the UFC to his name. 

But Pimblett isn't short of confidence as he insists everything is going exactly according to plan. 

"Go back and watch interviews and podcasts of me from before I even got signed by the UFC," he said.

Paddy Pimblett scored a stunning first-round KO over Luigi Vendramini

"I always said lad, I will get signed by the UFC, I'll get a finish, I'll get one interview in the cage, and everyone will know who I am.

"I always saw it coming in my future lad, I always said it, and it's going to continue like I said.

"I've seen it all in my head, I've planned it all out, I know what's coming.

"I can just see it. I know for a fact I'm going to end up winning  that belt and fighting at Anfield in front of my home crowd. I just know I am."

UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: VOLKOV vs. ASPINALL tickets go on sale from 10 a.m. GMT on Friday, February 4, via AXS and Ticketmaster. To stay up to date with the latest ticketing information, register your interest via UFC.com/London.