UFC veteran Paddy Pimblett recently took part in an unsanctioned gym fight with rival MMA fighter Denis Frimpong in order to settle a dispute. It was a bold move for several reasons, not just because of the obvious injury risk that comes with fighting someone in that setting. It also may have landed him in hot water with the UFC themselves, as they have built in exclusivity clauses in every one of their contracts. Although the fight wasn’t for any money or broadcast anywhere, a bug part of those exclusivity clauses is to ensure that fighters don’t get injured unnecessarily.
Pimblett has been a UFC fighter since 2021, after he built up an impressive 16-3 record on the regional MMA circuit. He’s managed to go undefeated since then and has been busy working his way up the lightweight rankings, currently sitting at 13th with a 22-3 record. His opponent in the unsanctioned gym fight was Denis Frimpong and although he’s also an MMA fighter, Frimpong has nowhere near the same level of experience and success as Paddy Pimblett. He currently has a 2-2 official professional record after going 6-2 as an amateur, although he only had his first competitive fight at around the same time that Pimblett made his UFC debut in 2021.
The two men had issues with one another on social media and Pimblett made the journey to Manchester Top Team to face Frimpong in person. The pair agreed to fight with gloves and shinguards on, without any timer in place and going until one was either knocked out or choked out. They spent the first three minutes striking and although it wasn’t one-sided, Pimblett was clearly getting the better of most of their exchanges. That’s when Pimblett hit a quick takedown and ran away with the fight. He used heavy pressure and ground and pound to pass Frimpong’s guard, immediately taking his back when he tried to turtle.
Pimblett locked up the rear-naked choke and squeezed hard for the finish, forcing Frimpong to tap frantically. Pimblett refused to release the choke though and it took several people jumping in before he did let go of Frimpong’s neck. As more people jumped in, Frimpong stood up and left the area immediately in order to get to safety. This isn’t actually the furst time that Paddy Pimblett has engaged in a fight in the gym either, although last time it was a much friendlier sparring match against a social media troll who didn’t have any real experience in the sport.
The full footage of the gym fight between Paddy Pimblett and fellow MMA fighter Denis Frimpong was shared to the official X account of Combat Casuals and footage of the aftermath also emerged:
Paddy Pimblett traveled to a rival gym to fight someone he had beef with on Instagram😳 pic.twitter.com/yGzrEN4t8A
— Combat Casuals (@Combat_Casuals) January 18, 2025
Social media beef between the UFC's Paddy Pimblett and former Oktagon lightweight Denis Frimpong was settled today by way of a gym smoker 👀 pic.twitter.com/AA2i414Bj8
— Paul Browne (@PaulBrowneMMA) January 18, 2025
