Pimblett opens as big betting favorite over failing Ferguson at UFC 296

Paddy Pimblett vs. Tony Ferguson was recently announced for the undercard of UFC 296 in December, and the booking has many fight fans torn up. No one likes to see their favorite former contenders reduced to gatekeeper status for new up-and-coming talent, and that’s exactly what seems to be happening here with Paddy “The Baddy” vs. “El Cucuy.”

Unfortunately for die-hard T.Ferg fans, the bookies don’t even like his chances against Pimblett, who struggled in his last outing against unranked opponent Jared Gordon. After six losses in a row, Ferguson is no longer in the lightweight rankings either. Sportsbooks still don’t like the looks the 39-year-old has been giving, and thus the miserable line: Paddy is the -280 favorite to underdog Ferguson at +240.

via his YouTube channel.

“A lot of people on social media are talking s— about this one and I don’t understand that,” he said. “Tony Ferguson is still a dangerous man, make no mistake about that. And it’s a really really tough spot for Paddy Pimblett because it’s a lose-lose, right?”

“Already there’s people out there talking s—, saying ‘Nah they’re just giving Paddy somebody easy.’ Tony Ferguson is not easy, he’s not an easy fight for anyone. But because he’s lost six fights in a row, if [Pimblett] goes out there and wins, well then guess what everyone’s gonna say? ‘Well of course you just beat Tony Ferguson he’s lost his last six in a row.’”

Bisping believes Ferguson is going to come in fired up.

“The striking’s there, the experience is there, he’s been wrestling all of his life, he’s got high high level Jiu Jitsu,” Bisping said. “Tony will look at this fight and say ‘Hold on a minute, here we go, this is my key to the door, this is my way to shut everybody up. This scouser has a tremendous amount of hype, everybody loves him. I’m gonna go out there and I’m going to slow down the hype train.’ This will be his ticket to shutting everyone up, silencing all the doubters.”

The will may be there, but can “El Cucuy” still force his body to perform like it once did? Just three years ago, people would have been reading Paddy his last rites walking into the cage against Ferguson. Now it’s a completely different story. Damn, this sport can be cruel.