Snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed his desire to step into the octagon with UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett.
O’Sullivan was one of a host of British A-listers to be in attendance at UFC London a few weeks back. He was evidently impressed with what he saw from the Liverpudlian, who added a first-round submission to his record.
The six-time world champion appears willing to give the sport a go himself, having revealed his desire to partake in a sparring session with Pimblett next time he finds himself on Merseyside. He’s quoted by the Express saying:
“I am definitely going to try and do some sparring with him, when I next go to Liverpool he has told me I have got to get in the cage. And I am well up for that, it is all fitness.”
“I went to Paddy’s last fight in London at the O2 with Damien Hirst, because he is a huge fan of UFC and knows the big bosses. We were sitting front row watching Paddy and Molly McCann too, and it was a great night.”
“I have got to know Paddy over the last few weeks. He is a super, lovely guy and is going to be a real superstar – well, he is already really, but he is going to be mega, he has that X-Factor.”
“What I like about UFC over maybe even the boxing is that you will never get an easy route. You have to fight whoever they say you are going to fight.”
“In boxing there is a lot of politics involved, and fighters get to fight certain fighters and avoid certain fighters. So the public can be frauded that some are better than they really are because they avoid the real, proper fights.”
In this ridiculous era of combat sports, Pimblett and O’Sullivan would be wise to stage the fight publicly, rather than behind closed doors, and put it behind a PPV wall. This is just the kind of nonsense that sells nowadays.
If they get a representative from Most Valuable Promotions on the phone, you could stage it as a co-main, with Jake Paul fighting another UFC bum on the same card. This may well be a prime money opportunity.
