Paddy Pimblett is hours away from his interim lightweight title fight against Justin Gaethje at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. And he wants to make sure he gets all the support he needs to secure the belt. This will help him land a potential match against Ilia Topuria next. But what exactly did he do? 

With UFC 324 looming, Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett recently appeared in an interview with the UFC’s ‘Weighing In’ show. During their conversation, the 31-year-old revealed that he has spent over $140K in an effort to have the arena filled with cheers for him when he fights Justin Gaethje. 

Why did Paddy Pimblett spend $140K? 

“Yeah,” Pimblett responded when asked whether he really bought 250 tickets to UFC 324. “[It set me back] more than $100,000, that’s like $140,000.” The revelation appeared to leave the show’s hosts stunned, as Pimblett explained that having his entire crew in attendance was a priority.

“Yeah. And there [are] a lot of people, scousers, who have got tickets who I haven’t got them for as well. So it’s going to be a good few scousers in here, put it that way,” Pimblett added during the interview. As of the time of writing, there are still seats available in the arena.

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The cheapest available ticket is priced at $348, while the most expensive seats will set fans back a staggering $14,897, according to StubHub. From a betting perspective, Pimblett enters the bout as a -239 favorite, with Justin Gaethje listed as a +195 underdog. While ‘The Baddy’ remains undefeated in the UFC, Gaethje holds a professional record of 14–5.

Age also favors Pimblett, as the 31-year-old is six years younger than the 37-year-old Gaethje. Pimblett is coming off a win over Michael Chandler in his most recent outing, while Gaethje rebounded from a loss to Max Holloway with a victory over Rafael Fiziev. Regardless, Paddy Pimblett appears to think he has spotted something interesting about Gaethje.

Pimblett thought he might have to kiss Justin Gaethje

Pimblett brought his usual humor to UFC 324 fight week, joking that a tense faceoff with Gaethje nearly turned romantic. Speaking on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel, Pimblett described filming a dramatic segment where the two fighters were required to stare at each other for an extended period.

“We’ve just had to do a little Paramount thing. We had to stare at each other… for two minutes straight,” Pimblett said. “We were like, ‘Jesus, are we gonna have to kiss here or something?’”

While Pimblett was quick to dismiss any idea that Gaethje was afraid, he did notice something he believes could matter inside the Octagon. “I don’t wanna say he was nervous, because he’s Justin Gaethje, lad,” he explained. “But he was a little bit twitchy.”

Pimblett then pointed out what he sees as a potential weakness. “His neck is very long, isn’t it? He’s got a long neck, which will not help him with a choke,” he added.

The 31-year-old appears as confident as ever. Gaethje might have a few dents in his armor, but he is a vicious fighter. Can Pimblett’s efforts to secure support on fight night help him win?