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Jordan Leavitt traveled all the way from Las Vegas to London, UK to fight Paddy Pimblett, getting defeated by rear-naked choke halfway through the second round. Past a short statement on social media he hasn't spoken much about the experience, but on a new episode of the MMA Holes Podcast, he opened up about the whole experience.
The biggest takeaway is that it's not pleasant fighting Paddy Pimblett in his home country, because the fans will not be kind to you. Leavitt said:
"London was a bit lackluster ... I expected hostility and I got more hostility than I bargained for. Yeah, I was very surprised by the negativity, it was so bad that it was funny. Like, I couldn't help but think it was completely ridiculous because I was like 'Yo, he's just 2-0 in the UFC and you guys don't even know me. Why are you so die hard over this, man?'"
Asked if the overall experience was more obnoxious than cool, Leavitt admitted it was the former.
"They were all Paddy fanboys and everything, so it was more obnoxious as opposed to feeling cool. Because it's almost like, if his attention was unwarranted, I definitely felt like my attention was unwarranted. So it's not like I thought this fight was a big deal. And I didn't think he was that big of a deal. So for me it all seemed kind of annoying because it all seemed so manufactured. So it was hard to feel excited about it."
Watch Jordan Leavitt discuss his UFC London experience below:
Leavitt went on to detail a number of issues he and other American fighters had on the trip, like being forced to do media upon arrival with no concern for jetlag. 'The Monkey King' also suffers from celiac disease and had requested accommodation in advance, only to find out upon arrival that the hotel couldn't safely provide him with food.
Leavitt summed up the experience by vowing not to accept international fights in the future.
Paddy Pimblett says Jordan Leavitt's walkout song helped take his mind off tragedy
While the UK crowd relentlessly booed Jordan Leavitt during his walkout at UFC London, Paddy Pimblett revealed that Leavitt's walkout music helped him overcome a last-minute bout of emotion before the fight.
Pimblett suffered two big losses leading up to his fight against Leavitt. A close friend committed suicide, and the child of another friend died of cancer. Leavitt's choice of Marvin Gaye's 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' actually ended up snapping Pimblett out of a funk. During the post-fight press conference, 'The Baddy' said:
“To be honest, right before I walked out I was getting a bit emotional thinking of Ricky and Lee. Then Jordan Leavitt’s song came on, ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,’ we all started dancing and singing it. It got my mind off of [the emotions].”
Watch Paddy Pimblett's full UFC London post-fight press conference interview below:
