Paddy Pimblett is coming into a tough fight against Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 329 this weekend; however, if “The Baddy” has any nerves, he’s not showing it during fight week.

And why would he, given that Paddy’s last fight was against human wrecking ball Justin Gaethje? While Pimblett lost that fight via decision, he stood toe to toe with Gaethje for five rounds and survived. That loss has aged well after Gaethje beat up former lightweight champion Ilia Topuria so badly his corner had to wave the fight off coming into the fifth. So what’s Saint Denis to Pimblett but a less scary Gaethje?

“Obviously, he’s a challenge,” Pimblett told Paramount+ in a new interview. “He’s ranked No. 5 in the world, he comes forward with a constant pressure, tries to take it right off with the backhands and back kicks. He’s a southpaw, but I like fighting southpaws. I’ve never lost to a southpaw. I’ve fought three French people in the past, and all three of them have been finished within the first two rounds. So I can’t see how he beats me.”

“He’s gonna try and take me down and get choked, or he’s gonna try and stand with me and get knocked out.”

Pimblett made it clear that there are levels to this game, and Saint Denis is not on the level of Gaethje.

“Justin Gaethje is a completely different animal to him, and that’s just a fact,” the Liverpool fighter said. And if Saint Denis tries to fight the same kind of fight as Gaethje?

“He won’t be able to do that,” Pimblett said. “He hasn’t got the cardio to be able to do that, and he hasn’t got the chin. So if he wants to have a scrap like that, I’ll knock his ass out.”

Pimblett expects the vibes in the T-Mobile Arena to be intense, given the number of English and Irish fans in town for UFC 329 (and the World Cup).

“It’s gonna be spectacular,” he declared. “You know, it’s gonna be a proper Scouse and Irish invasion this weekend. That’s what it’s gonna be. The amount of Scousers that’ll be here. The amount of Irish that are gonna be here, obviously. Me and Conor are gonna be like two hometown fighters.”

His prediction for his fight against Benoit Saint Denis?

“They’re gonna see a Frenchman get absolutely annihilated by an Englishman. Simple as.”