‘I’d take that fight in a heartbeat’ – Paddy Pimblett offers himself up as Conor McGregor’s next opponent

The Liverpudlian believes he should be the one to welcome the Irishman back into the octagon.

Paddy Pimblett has put his hand up to be Conor McGregor’s first opponent when he returns to the UFC next year.

The former featherweight and lightweight champion hasn’t been in the octagon since his defeat to Dustin Poirier in 2021 and will be keen to set his record straight.

The Irishman was scheduled to fight Michael Chandler last June, but was forced to cancel the event after suffering a broken toe in training.

Since then, there has been a lot of speculation and names thrown in the mix, from Justin Gaethje to Max Holloway to Dan Hooker.

Now, one of the most exciting and entertaining fighters in the game has put himself forward saying that he would “love” to fight the Dubliner.

Speaking to OLBG, Pimblett said: “If they got on me now and said do you want to fight Conor McGregor in December. Of course I’d say yes, I’m not f****** stupid.

“I just said to my manager, ‘Listen, if you want me to fight in [Las] Vegas before the end of the year – that card has been announced now – I need a ten week notice,’ I needed to know.”

He continued: “It got mentioned to me like eight years ago or something when I won the Cage Warriors featherweight belt [also won by McGregor].

“Anyone that would say no to fighting McGregor is just an idiot because you’re never getting a payday like it. I’d fight McGregor tomorrow, obviously for the city it would be unbelievable.

“Me, the biggest star in Liverpool MMA fighting the biggest star in the world when it comes to MMA. I’d take that fight in a heartbeat, I’d love that fight…I back myself against anyone.”

Furthermore, Pimblett wants to convince Dana White to host the potential bout with McGregor at Anfield.

“I hope I can convince him [Dana White] to go outdoors at Anfield,” he said. “He needs to come to a footy match to see what the atmosphere is like because I think he thinks it takes away from the atmosphere [going outdoors].

“But at Anfield it doesn’t, mate, when you’ve got 60,000 scousers in there, it won’t.

“Walking out on Anfield and touching the badge,” he continued. “That would be heavy. But, yeah [losing in front of home fans] that is always playing in your mind, you can’t think about that. 

“You’ve always got to have it in the back of your mind, it certainly can happen like that.”