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When a young Paddy Pimblett had his eyes glued to the television while watching UFC, he idolized the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Vitor Belfort.
The first live UFC event that the 26-year-old ever watched was UFC 103, a card headlined by Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin. When 'The Phenom' knocked out Franklin with his lightning-quick combinations, Pimblett was in awe of the Brazilian.
Paddy Pimblett told Jimmy Smith on the SiriusXM podcast:
"My favorite fighters when I was younger was Big Nog (Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira). I liked Big Nog and I liked Vitor Belfort as well because it was the first live UFC event I watched when he went up against Rich Franklin. That was the first live event that I watched."
While Nogueira bid adieu to the sport of MMA in 2015, Belfort recently introduced himself to boxing. The 44-year-old is coming off a dominating win over former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield in an exhibition match.
Paddy Pimblett, on the other hand, made a successful start to his UFC career. In his promotional debut, 'The Baddy' scored a TKO victory in the first round of the fight.
You can listen to the podcast below:
Pimblett also gave props to Dan Hardy and Michael Bisping, who were two of the biggest names from the United Kingdom competing in the UFC.
Paddy Pimblett isn't surprised by the attention he has gained after his win at UFC Vegas 36
Paddy Pimblett's win over Luigi Vendramini was one of the biggest talking points from UFC Vegas 36, an event that was headlined by Derek Brunson and Darren Till. After he survived an early scare to viciously knock out his Brazilian opponent, Pimblett became a center of attention in the MMA community.
However, Pimblett was anticipating his rise to stardom beforehand. He said he always knew that he would become a viral sensation overnight. Paddy Pimblett told Smith:
"If you look at some of my past interviews, I've said I'll have one fight in the UFC, one win, one interview, and I'm gonna blow up and that's what happened. I called it from day one."
