Paddy Pimblett and Dan Hooker’s rivalry has turned massively ugly. Both lightweights have stayed on a collision course since they share the same division. However, it turned personal when ‘The Baddy’ passed a crass comment about ‘The Hangman’s grappling, which involved the Kiwi’s mother on the MMA Guru’s show. After that statement, Hooker didn’t stay silent and answered with even more firepower.

Uploading a video of their past interaction, the New Zealander posted on X, “Ain’t said s— when we were face-to-face b—. I thought we were mates but you’re not a very good mate are you.” Later, ‘The Hangman’ also made a comment on Pimblett’s late teammate, who died in 2022. Following that, the Kiwi fired another warning, “It’s on site you fat b—,” subtly inviting a confrontation in Pimblett’s home city, and that was enough for the Liverpudlian.

Paddy Pimblett issues a warning to Dan Hooker about visiting Liverpool

“F—k him. I’ve had people from Liverpool asking if he’s coming this week because they were going to batter him. So, he’s lucky that he’s fighting next week and he’s not here because he would have got jumped by about 60 Scousers,” Pimblett told Fox Sports Australia.

For the unversed, Dan Hooker is all set to face Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 325 in Sydney, and with a win, he would definitely get closer to facing a bigger-name opponent. So, because of that ongoing rivalry, ‘The Baddy’ seems animated to face the Auckland native in a potential fight, and the Liverpudlian also seems to have another insult ready. Rubbing salt into Hooker’s wound, Pimblett brought back his first-round loss against Michael Chandler at UFC 257.

“Yeah, but he’s beneath me. He’s an absolute c—p. He’s 5-5 in his last ten. He’s a bum. People call Michael Chandler washed. I beat him. Michael Chandler knocked Dan Hooker out in two minutes. What’s Dan Hooker if Michael Chandler’s washed? What’s Dan Hooker?” Pimblett added in the interview.

So, with all these verbal arrows flying, there’s a chance that Pimblett might entertain the idea of facing ‘The Hangman’ in the future if the time is right. However, there’s another fight the Englishman is really not going to participate in. 

‘The Baddy’ shows respect while avoiding a clash with Alexander Volkanovski

Recently, Paddy Pimblett entertained the idea that if he wins the undisputed lightweight belt, Alexander Volkanovski might actually push for double champ status once again. ‘The Great’ is currently on the verge of achieving more greatness as he’s set to clash with Diego Lopes at UFC 325. So, the Liverpudlian believes that with one or two defenses, the Aussie would actually look forward to challenging him for the title.

“I don’t want to fight Volk. I really like Volk. He’s one of the nicest men I’ve ever met in my life. I’m a fan of Volk, but I just thought, hypothetically, that Volk would probably think that I am the easiest chance for him to become a lightweight champion and a double champ,” Pimblett added in the Fox Sports Australia interview.

Amid Alexander Volkanovski’s retirement talks, it’s true that the Aussie actually wanted to move up to the lightweight division to try to become double champ. However, he wanted to face two former opponents, Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, who beat him. So, it seemed more like ‘The Great’ was trying to get back his losses rather than claiming another belt.

That said, as Paddy Pimblett has been getting into heated rivalries, what do you think? Could he actually win the interim belt at UFC 324? Is he getting too distracted before facing Justin Gaethje? Let us know in the comments section below.