Israel Adesanya praises Paddy Pimblett for ‘authentic expression’ — ‘Outside of the cage is where you stand out’

Paddy Pimblett looks to continue his meteoric rise to superstardom this weekend (Sat., Dec. 10, 2022) at UFC 282 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the T-Mobile Arena.

The Liverpool, England native has wasted little to no time bursting on the scene in UFC, winning his first three bouts all via finish with huge crowd reactions. Former UFC Middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, also found himself quickly achieving high levels of fame upon his arrival in the promotion.

Watching Pimblett’s ascent with this imminent co-main event spot opposite Jared Gordon looming, Adesanya can’t help but praise the Lightweight prospect.

“How well are they building him up? Not even really them, he’s just building himself up,” Adesanya said on his YouTube channel. “He’s built him up, but they’ve definitely made the platform for him.

“Outside of the cage is where you stand out because a lot of these guys [at Lightweight] are super skilled, but you don’t know who the f—k they are,” he added. “They don’t express themselves. Everyone’s different. You don’t have to express yourself outwardly and be that extrovert like Paddy is when he promotes and whatnot.”

“The Last Stylebender” has always found pride in keeping things real and never putting on an act during his rise to the top of his division. Everybody is different though, and the way stars are born can happen in numerous ways as he believes he and others before Pimblett are living proof of.

“One of my favorites was Gunnar Nelson,” Adesanya said. “He was just a guy that when he was on was one of the best fighters at Welterweight, but then he said like two words. That was his expression of himself, his true authentic expression of himself. I feel like this is Paddy as well.

“The guy that truly expresses himself and a lot of people don’t do that and I feel like that’s why they miss out on big opportunities,” he concluded. “But then you set yourself apart from the rest with spectacular performances and you also have the ability to express yourself authentically, you leapfrog a lot of dudes who have been there longer. Trust me, I know, I’ve done it.”

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 282 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard (on ESPN2/ESPN+) at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 282: “Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.