"I've seen him against better competition in Cage Warriors" - John McCarthy on UFC giving Paddy Pimblett easy opponents

Despite winning in impressive fashion on Saturday night, Paddy Pimblett has come under scrutiny for facing "easy" opponents. John McCarthy is the latest to agree with the popular notion.

'The Baddy' made his second appearance in the UFC on March 19 and once again earned himself a first-round stoppage win. After overcoming some early adversity, the Brit took Kazula Vargas to the mat and sunk in a rear-naked choke to end the fight.

While speaking to Josh Thomson on an episode of the Weighing In podcast, John McCarthy insisted that the 27-year-old must first prove himself in the octagon against better fighters before he is taken seriously in the division. The former MMA referee said:

"I understand why they put him against someone like Rodrigo Vargas, an older fighter. I'm not a Paddy hater. I love when you have a guy like Paddy who talks the way he does, who has that game... If you want to talk about how great you are, I want to see you against other great fighters."

McCarthy then claimed that the Liverpool native has been in the cage with better competition prior to signing with the UFC, adding:

"I just want to see him against better competition. I've seen him against better competition in Cage Warriors than I'm seeing him in competition in the UFC. Tell me I'm lying."

Disagreeing with McCarthy, Josh Thomson suggests that the young prospect deals with the bright lights and the big stage in a better way than most fighters. The former UFC fighter believes the promotion is doing a great job of building their next big superstar.

Watch McCarthy and Thomson discuss Paddy Pimblett below (21:25):

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Who's next for Paddy Pimblett?

After scoring another outstanding first-round finish, Paddy Pimblett seemingly has the fans, media and UFC brass eating out of the palm of his hand.

A meeting between the Englishman and Ilia Topuria could be the perfect matchmaking option for the UFC. However, it seems that the former Cage Warriors featherweight champion isn't interested in settling their feud inside the cage. He confirmed that he has no interest in a fight against 'El Matador' during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping.

Pimblett has also confirmed that he won't be fighting anybody in the top 15 of the lightweight division until he is given a better contract. He could still have a tough time against unranked opponents at 155 lbs.

Terrance McKinney, Renato Moicano and Joel Alvarez are three challenging matchups that could be next up for the Liverpudlian.