Don’t let the online hate fool you, Paddy Pimblett is leaving no stone unturned in the preparation for his first UFC title fight. He has his compatriot, UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, to vouch for the same. And if we are to believe big Tom, ‘The Baddy’ is already putting himself in uncharted waters and could surprise everyone in his interim title bid against Justin Gaethje at UFC 324.

For Pimblett, UFC 324 is more of a referendum. The kind of noise Pimblett is facing usually breaks fighters, but it can also create a frightening level of confidence that makes one want to prove every critic wrong. And then there’s Justin Gaethje, the ultimate test for someone who likes to play fast and loose in striking exchanges. So, the biggest question isn’t whether Paddy believes in himself, but whether he’ll finally fight like a man who understands exactly what’s at stake. If you ask Tom Aspinall, ‘The Baddy’ is walking laser-focused into this one.

Tom Aspinall says Pimblett is training things fans haven’t seen before

This is where the latest update provided by Tom Aspinall gets fascinating. On his YouTube channel, Aspinall stated that he has been closely following Paddy Pimblett’s sessions, and what he sees is something that has piqued his interest. “It’s top secret stuff, so you guys can’t see it. But very interesting. It’s always interesting with Paddy because he does a lot of unorthodox things,” he said.

That alone raises eyebrows because Pimblett is usually predictable in the grand scheme of things: striking chaos until the grappling door opens. His chin-up method has been forgiven by other opponents since his grappling is real and his chaos works. Against Gaethje, chaos gets punished (unless you’re Max Holloway).

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While recovering from surgery after the brutal eye-poke at UFC 321, the heavyweight champion has been keeping an eye on what’s going on around him—and he hinted that ‘The Baddy’ may be cooking something completely different for the Gaethje fight. According to Tom, opponents find it hard to prepare for Pimblett’s style of fighting. And this is especially true for Justin Gaethje, who thrives when opponents panic and begin swinging in patterns.

But the real tease was the fact that ‘The Baddy’ is letting go of his tried and tested battle strategy for this interim fight. “It’s nice to watch a bit of Paddy in the gym doing stuff that I’ve not seen him do before in the Octagon. I know that he’s got it and that he can do it well. So we’ll see if he puts any of this into his fight with Gaethje.”

That line is significant because throughout fight week, Paddy Pimblett has been saying that he will stand and strike with Justin Gaethje. In an interview with TNT Sports, he said, “I’ll keep it on the feet with him. There’s the blueprint there to beat him; Max [Holloway] done it. Everyone underestimates my striking. Everyone thinks I’m just going to come in and I’m going to take him down, and I’m not.”

The safe approach is obvious: wrestle, struggle, and submit. The dangerous approach involves pride-striking with one of the most violent punchers ever. If Aspinall is right, Pimblett may be attempting to combine the two: sharpen the stand-up enough to withstand the fire, then capitalize on that threat to make the grappling even deadlier. But will he be able to pull off a win? Alexander Volkanovski surely has his money on ‘The Baddy’ for this one.

Alexander Volkanovski picks Paddy Pimblett to win at UFC 324

If Paddy Pimblett is truly becoming a smarter version of himself behind closed doors, it explains why some champions aren’t laughing at his chances. Justin Gaethje stays the scarier man on paper, but the fight is about more than just power; it’s about Paddy’s ability to stay disciplined when violence pours in. That’s the part that decides whether the “new striking” talk becomes a headline or a lesson.

Alexander Volkanovski, for one, is betting that ‘The Baddy’ won’t fall into the ego trap. While speaking with TNT Sports, ‘The Great’ stated clearly that he is rooting for Paddy—not because he believes Gaethje is washed, but because Pimblett has started showing his ability to stick to a plan rather than chasing chaos. He said, “That’s going to be a fun fight. I’m going to go with Paddy.”

‘The Great’ further added, “There’s been a couple of times where I’ve thought Paddy’s had big tests in front of him and he’s passed them, and he showed me in his last fight he can really stick to a game plan, and he’s going to need that with Gaethje. So, I’m going to go Paddy.” So, it looks like Volkanovski has complete trust in Pimblett that he can deliver it again. And if he does, ‘The Baddy” storyline stops being controversial and starts becoming very real.