Din Thomas 'highly doubts' Paddy Pimblett becomes UFC champion

Long-time coach and analyst Din Thomas believes Paddy Pimblett’s thrilling style will keep him on marquee cards, but he remains unconvinced the Liverpudlian can climb all the way to the top of the lightweight division.

Pimblett, 7-1 inside the UFC octagon, pushed Justin Gaethje the full 25 minutes for the interim belt at UFC 324 only to drop a lopsided decision. While critics panned the Brit’s approach, Thomas told MMA Junkie the performance aligned perfectly with the reel fans have come to expect.

“I was impressed with Paddy’s durability and his conditioning,” Thomas said. “How else did he ever fight before? When you think about it, how else did he ever fight before? When he fought Michael Chandler, he took him down in the third round after he was already hurt. But the only other times they were ever on the ground in that fight against Michael Chandler was when Chandler took him down—and he swept him and reversed positions.”

Thomas argued Pimblett’s identity has always revolved around resilience rather than refined stand-up craft.

“Paddy Pimblett fights the way Paddy Pimblett fights. He’s a survivalist. He survives the onslaughts. He gets taken down. He’s great off of his back. He’s never been the best boxer. He hits pretty hard. He runs forward pretty recklessly. But I wasn’t surprised with the way he fought Gaethje or was disappointed with his skill set. That’s the skill set that I knew he had. I was more so surprised with his chin and his durability and how determined he was to win that fight despite being a bit out-skilled.”

Despite the moral victory, Thomas struggles to envision Pimblett solving the division’s elite.

“I don’t see him beating any of them guys. I didn’t see him beating any of them guys before this fight, I don’t see him beating any of them guys after the fight, even though I was impressed by his determination to win and his durability. Again, his ceiling is his ceiling and he’s still going to be a fun guy. He’s still going to be a fun guy to watch fight.”

Thomas still sees massive commercial upside for the 29-year-old showman.

“You match him up and give him a lot of fun fights, he’s going to carry Liverpool on his back, man. He’s going to carry the U.K. on his back. And he’s still going to be a lot of fun. There’s a lot of fun matchups for him. Will he be UFC champion? Highly doubt that—unless I see something different. But it’s a discipline issue. He’s got to go back to the drawing board and figure those things out.”

The veteran coach expanded on his assessment during a recent episode of “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn, doubling down on the notion that star power and title reigns rarely overlap without strategic reinvention.