Countdown to UFC 282 drops, starring ‘people’s main event’ Paddy Pimblett

UFC 282 airs on Saturday December 10th. And while the last pay-per-view of the year certainly isn’t packed from top to bottom like some other events, there’s some interesting stories to be told in the new Countdown to UFC 282 show that was just released on YouTube.

UFC 282 was originally set to feature Jiri Prochazka vs. Glover Teixeira in the main event, and possibly the return of Jon Jones at heavyweight! The Jones thing obviously didn’t pan out, and neither did Prochazka vs. Teixeira — Jiri completely destroyed his shoulder in a training accident and withdrew from the event. He also relinquished the light heavyweight title, and now a co-main between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev has been upgraded into the main event title fight.

Just another main event shuffle, no big deal.

Countdown to UFC 282 delves into that whole messy process, and it also goes deep on the return of Paddy Pimblett. Pimblett is the promotion’s hottest star, and the UFC is carefully raising him through the ranks in the hopes that star might go nova. He’ll be facing Jared Gordon, a five year UFC vet with a 19-5 MMA (7-4 UFC) record. There’s not a lot of animosity brewing between the two. In fact, Gordon has decided to piggy back off Pimblett’s recent calls for more mental health awareness and delve into his past issues with drugs and addiction.

And if there was any doubt Paddy Pimblett is the people’s main event, consider the view counts for the Pimblett vs. Gordon Countdown video (currently at over 100k) versus the Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev video (with just 50k). We suppose an in-depth look into Magomed Ankalaev’s training process can’t really compete with Paddy “The Baddy” infectious enthusiasm and genuine positive vibes.

UFC 282 takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information on the lineup and how to watch, click here.