![\"Paddy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0_UFC-324-Gaethje-v-Pimblett.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe ‘Baddy’ thought he would remain in the UFC top-five lightweight rankings following the update after his fight with Justin Gaethje, but he has since been handed a major blow<\/p>\n
Paddy Pimblett was beaten by Justin Gaethje at UFC 324(Image: Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n
Paddy Pimblett<\/a> is no longer recognised as a top-five lightweight after suffering a dip in the rankings in the latest update – despite not even fighting.<\/p>\n The Liverpudlian failed in his quest for UFC<\/a> gold last month after suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 in Las Vegas<\/a>. Pimblett received some minor good news just days after the contest. The 31-year-old came into the clash ranked fifth in the division, and even following the defeat, his ranking was unaffected<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just over a week on, though, that has now changed. This past weekend saw the premier MMA promotion return to Australia<\/a> for UFC 325 – headlined by Alexander Volkanovski versus Diego Lopes. The Aussie 145lb champion would go on to retain his gold belt after scoring a decision win over Lopes<\/a>.<\/p>\n Elsewhere on the main card, Maurcio Ruffy brutally knocked out Rafael Fiziev in a lightweight dust-up<\/a>. However, the co-main event saw Benoit Saint Denis clash with Dan Hooker in another 155lb clash. The Frenchman stopped his Kiwi rival in the second round to continue his rise up the division. And following the ‘God of War’s’ knockout victory, he has been bumped up three spots and now sits fifth in the rankings – with Pimblett dropping down one spot.<\/p>\n FOLLOW OUR FIGHTING FB PAGE! Latest boxing and MMA news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE: Lerone Murphy to headline UFC London as full card revealed<\/a><\/p>\n Pimblett will be heading back to the drawing board and look to work his way back into title contention. The Liverpool native was rushed straight to hospital following the loss at UFC 324<\/a>, but still somehow made his after party at the Zouk Nightclub in Las Vegas<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just days later, Pimblett’s wife, Laura, posted several snaps with her other half, who was pictured sporting some nasty black eyes<\/a>. The ‘Baddy’ briefly spoke to UFC commentator after the Sin City showdown, but after a couple of days of rest, he eventually took to social media to address his loyal fans<\/a>.<\/p>\n “Hope everyone enjoyed my fight just as much as I did,” Pimblett posted on Instagram<\/a>. “Want to thank everyone that came to support and everyone watching at home. I’m all good, no injuries, went into the fight feeling amazing had a great camp and an easy weight cut. No excuses the better man won on the night. Justin Gaethje, congratulations brother it was an honor to share the cage with such a legend. Go get that undisputed title, your career deserves it. Hopefully we can run it back for the undisputed because I still know it’s in my destiny to win that gold! UFC thank you for the opportunity. You’s all know I’ll be back for that belt in the near future.”<\/p>\n READ MORE: UFC star breaks BOTH feet during title rematch defeat<\/a>READ MORE: Jean Silva makes Ilia Topuria proposition after Alexander Volkanovski win<\/a><\/p>\n Pimblett was an interested viewer for Saint Denis’ fight with Hooker this past weekend. The ‘Baddy’ and Hooker have traded barbs online these past few weeks, and the Brit was eager to see how his rival would get on. “Dan Hooker’s been talking a big game, so he wants to win, really, doesn’t he?” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel<\/a>. “And then it could be me versus him next in the summer. Could be me versus whoever wins this fight, really, to be honest.”<\/p>\n Following the Frenchman’s win, Pimblett said: “Nice to see Dan get TKOd after the s*** he was chatting.” The 31-year-old is targeting a summer return and is open to a fight with the ‘God of War.’ “He probably enjoyed me losing last week \u2014 that was probably a generational hate watch for him,” he explained. “I never got finished, though. I really like Benoit Saint Denis. I think he’s a proper nice fella, and I like his fighting style. He comes to bang, I proper like Saint Denis. I hope he does well, but obviously, if he’s next for me, he’s getting finished. And Hooker, unlucky mate.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ‘Baddy’ thought he would remain in the UFC top-five lightweight rankings following the update after his fight…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455727,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,17498,85,787],"class_list":{"0":"post-455726","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fighting","11":"tag-mma","12":"tag-paddy-pimblett","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-ufc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}