EXCLUSIVE | Christos Giagos Claims Paddy Pimblett is “Good for the Sport”

UFC lightweight Christos Giagos has claimed that Paddy Pimblett is good for the sport of MMA, in an exclusive interview with Combat Sports UK.

Paddy Pimblett has had a controversial and exciting time in the UFC. From his confidence on the mic to controversial decisions inside the cage, the Scouser is always a topic of discussion.

But, fellow lightweight Christos Giagos, despite being a teammate of Pimblett’s rival Jared Gordon, has stated that he is good for the sport.

In an exclusive interview with Combat Sports UK’s Ben Evans, he said: “I don’t dislike him, I think anybody who brings a lot of attention to the sport is good for the sport.

“Whether you like him or you hate him, you still got all eyes on him. It brings a lot more fans to the sport.

“At the end of the day, we wanna make this sport as big as it can get, so I think it’s good no matter what happens.”

Giagos on Paddy Pimblett vs Jared Gordon

Giagos spoke on his teammate’s loss to ‘The Baddy’, saying it ended in ‘a good situation’.

He said: “I’m sure it stung, obviously nobody likes to have an L on their record, or multiple L’s. Every loss sucks but I’m sure it felt good knowing that the world was on his side. We had a lot of high-level fighters, got a lot of big guys in the game saying that he won.

“Paddy, even though he got the W, I’m sure he felt like he lost because everybody was against that win.

“Even though he [Gordon] has an L on his record, I’m sure it was okay because the world was on his side. I think he knows [that] he won and it just makes it more exciting for another fight with them two, it’s gonna bring a lot more attention to that fight.

“I think it’s a good situation at the end of the day, it’s gonna [allow them to] be able to promote another big fight [between] them two.”

Giagos on His Upcoming Fight Against Ricky Glenn

Giagos is back in action on April 22. This ‘The Spartan’s’ first fight since June 2022 when he was defeated by Thiago Moises.

This is the first time that the 33-year-old has been on a two-fight losing streak in the UFC. He spoke about his desire to get over the setback of consecutive losses.

He said: “I’m feeling good. I feel that I’m definitely improving on a lot of the holes in my game but I just feel like I haven’t got [the chance] to show the world how much better I’ve gotten since moving to the new gym.

“I just got caught up with a little mistake in the last two fights trying to make my way towards the top 15. It’s okay, a little setback ain’t nothing I’ve dealt with before so I always get right back into it.

“I’m pretty much on the cusp of fighting for my job so I think it’s very important. I am definitely training like I’m fighting for my job right now.

“I’m all in, I’m leaving nothing behind. It’s a little stressful but I’m just trying not to think about it too much. I’m just looking at the fight ahead of me and I’m hoping to give my best performance to date.”

Describing what the fans can expect on Saturday night, Giagos promised ‘war’.

He said: “I got one word. War. We got a gladiator versus a Spartan. Two ancient warriors in modern-day civilisation.”