UFC star Paddy Pimblett believes he’ll be able to score a quick finish over Jordan Leavitt at UFC London.

While he may not be everyone’s cup of tea, Paddy Pimblett is undoubtedly one of the fastest rising stars of the last few years in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He isn’t getting the same kind of attention as Khamzat Chimaev or Shavkat Rakhmonov in terms of his fighting ability, but he’s already 2-0 in the promotion and his persona is reminding many of when Conor McGregor first started making waves at the elite level.

The Scouse sensation is set to return to the Octagon on July 23 as part of the stacked UFC London card, with Dana White impulsively booking a return visit to the English capital based on the success they enjoyed back in March.

His opponent will be the eccentric and entertaining Jordan Leavitt, and yet even though this is viewed as a notable step up in competition, ‘The Baddy’ isn’t too concerned about his next outing at the O2 Arena.

“I don’t even know that much about him, to be honest. He’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu, he’s 3-1 in the UFC. As I say he’s a black belt, so that’s the best thing he’s got going for him. I’m gonna knock him out on the feet, in the first five minutes more than likely. That’s it. I’m gonna go out and put it on him in a big way. He’ll wilt under the pressure in the first or early in the second and I’m gonna finish him, simple as.”

The entertainment factor

For someone like Paddy Pimblett, simply beating his opponents isn’t good enough.

If he really wants to capture the imagination of the masses he needs to put on a show, as he’s been able to do so far across his Cage Warriors stint as well as his two victories in the UFC.

He knocked out Luigi Vendramini after overcoming some early adversity last September, and then in March, London was bouncing along as he submitted Kazula Vargas to showcase just how well-rounded he’s become.

At the age of just 27, it’s somewhat scary to think about how high Pimblett’s ceiling could be.