Paddy Pimblett used Trevor Wittman's gloves to jibe at him and Justin Gaethje over eye pokes in their UFC fight

Paddy Pimblett has seemingly taken a jibe at his former opponent Justin Gaethje as well as Gaethje's longtime coach Trevor Wittman. 

"The Baddy" revisited their grueling five-round fight from earlier this year and the eye pokes that he suffered at the hands of Gaethje.

On one hand, Pimblett appeared to acknowledge his American counterpart's recent success at UFC Freedom 250. On the other hand, the Englishman also implied that he'd have beaten Gaethje if it weren't for the eye pokes. 

Justin Gaethje handed Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria their first UFC defeats

Paddy Pimblett's most recent fight witnessed him suffer his first loss under the UFC promotional banner, albeit he'd already been beaten in other MMA organizations before.

The Liverpudlian's first defeat inside the UFC's famed octagon came against ex-BMF titlist Justin Gaethje at UFC 324. The veteran fighter bested Pimblett via unanimous decision and captured the interim UFC lightweight title that was at stake in the matchup. 

Gaethje's next octagon outing witnessed him become the first fighter to beat Ilia Topuria in the UFC and MMA overall. "The Highlight" stopped Topuria via fourth-round TKO after a thrilling war at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14. 

Paddy Pimblett's jibe at Justin Gaethje and his coach, Trevor Wittman, using the latter's special gloves

During a recent conversation with former UFC flyweight champion and ex-ONE Flyweight Champion, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson, Paddy Pimblett addressed his fight against Justin Gaethje. 

Johnson indicated that he expected Pimblett to beat Gaethje by utilizing his grappling, and later predicted that Topuria would beat Gaethje. Regardless, Gaethje bested both. 

When asked why he didn't use his grappling against Gaethje, Pimblett pointed out that their fight headlined UFC 324 in January, which marked the first major UFC card on the organization's seven-year deal with Paramount. 

Alluding that he wanted to put forth an entertaining performance, Pimblett stated, "First ever Paramount card; I was like, 'I'm going to come out, and I'm going to have a war.' You know what I mean?"

Furthermore, Pimblett referenced Gaethje's longtime head coach Trevor Wittman's oft-discussed custom-made MMA gloves, which are specially designed to minimize the possibility of eye pokes. 

Harking back to his UFC 324 fight against Gaethje, Pimblett implied that the eye pokes the American landed on him helped him bag the victory. It was quite a polarizing talking point that emerged from their clash that transpired back in January.

Some fans claimed the eye pokes were inadvertent and didn't significantly alter the fight's outcome, while others argued Pimblett would've won if Gaethje hadn't landed them. "The Baddy" jibed at Gaethje and Wittman, saying: 

"And Justin Gaethje had a little cheat against me, and it benefited him. I hear that's why Trevor Wittman made them gloves, so Justin (would) stop eye-poking everyone in the gym." 

Currently, Gaethje is the reigning UFC lightweight champion, who could defend the title against a top contender like BMF champion Charles Oliveira or Arman Tsarukyan next. 

Meanwhile, Pimblett is booked to fight Benoit Saint Denis in a much-awaited lightweight matchup at UFC 329 on July 11.

While speaking with Demetrious Johnson, Pimblett criticized Ilia Topuria for his loss against Justin Gaethje.

The British combatant has long been at loggerheads with the Georgian-Spaniard Topuria and claimed that the latter wouldn't be the same fighter after his brutal loss against Gaethje.

Pimblett also affirmed that he'd like to be Topuria's first fight back when "El Matador" returns. 

 

Watch Paddy Pimblett take a shot at Justin Gaethje and Trevor Wittman in the video below: