What martial arts does Paddy Pimblett use in the UFC?

Paddy Pimblett is an English MMA fighter who hails for Liverpool. Since making his debut, he has won over thousands of fans due to his cheeky interviews and more importantly, his brutally effective style. In brief, if you watch Pimblett fight then he’s not afraid to let his hands fly, but more often he will look for submissions and is a very dangerous ground fighter.

The catch is that looking at him, he doesn’t really look too threatening due to his iconic, long blonde hair that looks like it belongs in an 80s throwback. Nonetheless, after watching him for a few seconds, you’ll learn that he’s not to be messed with. In this article, we’ve detailed Paddy Pimblett’s main fighting style and the techniques that he likes to use. Primarily, Pimblett wins his fights by submission or unanimous decision and isn’t really much of a knockout artist. To learn more, read on.

Martial arts that Paddy Pimblett uses

Brazilian Jiu JItsu

Perhaps Pimblett’s biggest asset is his advanced knowledge of Brazilian Jiu JItsu. He has trained this since childhood and is a black belt in the martial art. In fact, throughout his earlier career in Cage Warriors, some argued that he was overly reliant on his BJJ. Since then, he has evolved and improved his striking so he’s less one-dimensional.

For instance, many of his earlier fights were won by submission but his UFC debut win was done by a knockout punch. Such is his submission prowess, that two of his pro wins have come by way of flying triangle. This is an incredibly difficult way of submitting someone that requires a high level understanding of grappling – especially in such an intense environment such as an MMA fight.

As a result, it’s no surprise that Pimblett is a legit black belt. Furthermore, Pimblett often uses the rubber guard whilst his back is on the ground which is an offensive way of fighting off your back. Even in his loss against Soren Bak, he managed to take his back and nearly choke him out, which shows just how dangerous he is on the ground from various positions.

Wrestling

Whilst it’s great knowing BJJ, you have to be able to take people down to really make it work – and this is why Pimblett is a good wrestler. Interestingly, wrestling isn’t as commonly taught in England compared to other countries like the USA. Nonetheless, if you plan on submitting someone, then you’ll probably need to take them to the floor.

Often, Pimblett would set up wrestling takedowns such as the double leg by jabbing his opponent and timing his entries when there’s space. This is pretty common stuff in high level MMA but is highly effective. He also uses wrestling defensively at times which is equally as important, sometimes sprawling to defend takedowns and using wall wrestling to avoid bad positions.

In short, his wrestling probably isn’t as good as his BJJ but it’s still good enough. He is also pretty well-versed in Judo too and can sometimes opt to use hip throws when the time is right.

Boxing and Muay Thai

As mentioned, whilst Paddy Pimblett is considered more of a grappler, he did consciously work on his striking which paid dividends. If you watched his earlier career then you’ll have noticed that Pimblett sometimes struggled on his feet. However, he worked tirelessly on his boxing before signing with the UFC. This was seen when he knocked out Luigi Vendramini in the promotion which proved he had power in his hands.

Before this, he was struggling in the fight and almost got knocked out himself. Previously, Pimblett wouldn’t have been capable of a knockout finish whilst standing, which shows his growth and versatility. As we all know, to be an elite MMA fighter these days, you can’t be too reliant on one style, so it’s good that Pimblett improved his striking. To do this he went to a specialist boxing gym in his home city of Liverpool.

Aside from boxing, Pimblett is also solid when it comes to Muay Thai. Again, talking of versatility this is something that will improve your stand up massively. Over the years, he has been pictured training Muay Thai which means his elbows and kicks are also to a decent standard.

Conclusion

Overall, Paddy Pimblett is a balanced fighter. This makes sense considering he’s fought in the UFC which is seen by many as the pinnacle of the MMA world. Having said this, Pimblett is clearly more comfortable whilst grappling. This isn’t to take away from his striking either which is solid, but primarily his first love is grappling.

In conclusion, it’s fair to say that Pimblett is mostly a submission expert who is comfortable fighting on his back as well as on top. This is a bit of a rarity in MMA these days, yet shows how special Pimblett is when it comes to fighting. You could argue that this is also one of the reasons as to why he’s so exciting and entertaining as a fighter.