Saturday night saw fan-favourite Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett return to the cage in his first shot at UFC gold in the main event of UFC 324, taking on dangerous veteran Justin Gaethje.
Opinions were divided leading up to the bout, with some thinking that Gaethje was out of his prime and easy work for the younger Scouser, and some arguing that the former’s experience against the best at lightweight would prove too much for his opponent. There were even doubts about whether either deserved the opportunity, with some saying that contenders such as Arman Tsarukyan had earned the fight.
From the opening moments of the fight, however, these concerns were silenced. In an electric performance, Gaethje scored several knockdowns in the opening rounds before Pimblett had a second wind and the two went toe-to-toe in a back and forth war. The American eventually comfortably won the bout via unanimous decision, taking home the interim belt for the second time in his career in the process.
Paddy Pimblett Was Pre-Fight Favourite at UFC 324
The result of the fight was a surprise to many, despite vocal concerns heading into the event over whether Pimblett had an ‘easy’ path to the belt, claiming wins over none of the top-10 ranked fighters at lightweight. However, the betting line reflected that most picked the Scouser to take home gold, going into Saturday night as a -250 favourite.
Among those picking the Liverpudlian to win was one fan so certain of his pick that he placed the largest ever bet on a mixed martial arts fight.
This record had been intact for more than five years, when a fan put $1,000,000 on Amanda Nunes to beat Felicia Spencer in 2020. While this proved a relatively good decision, Saturday night was not so lucky for the fan that smashed this record in backing Paddy Pimblett.
Largest MMA Bet Ever Proves Costly
Fans watching the broadcast of UFC 324 on Paramount were told that one fan had placed $1,300,000 on the Scouser to take home the belt. If he had proven successful, the bet would have returned around $1,800,000. However, this was not to be. Instead, the fan was unlucky enough to lose a stake that rivalled Pimblett’s own earnings for the bout.
This fan was not the only person surprised by Gaethje’s win over the Liverpudlian. Lightweight champion Ilia Topuria chastised the ‘little sausage‘ for his inability to ‘beat a 38-year-old guy’, in the process losing ‘the biggest paycheck of your life.’ This criticism was echoed by welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, who commented that the lightweight belt that was ‘brought on a platter‘ to Pimblett ‘turned out to be inedible.’