By:  | July 1, 2022 10:04 am

Paddy Pimblett spoke to Liam Harrison on his podcast this week. The UFC star discussed a number of topics with the Muay Thai fighter including his recent fight with Muangthai PKSaenchaigym.

Muangthai knocked Harrison down two times in the first round only for the Englishman to bounce straight back up and finish the fight with three knockdowns of his own. It was one of the best Muay Thai fights in recent history and Pimblett says he was blown away by his fellow Englishman’s performance,

“That got put on in our group chat and I was like…Lad! Lad! I had to put it on the telly because the phone wasn’t good enough,” he said.

Bonus winners

Harrison earned $100,000 USD in bonuses for that performance. The 36 year old is set to challenge reigning bantamweight champion Nong-O Gaiyanghadao next and has certainly come a long way since his days as a teenager fighting in working man’s clubs and pubs in Leeds,

“When I was coming up I was in working men’s clubs full of smoke, you could smoke inside in those days. They’d have a gentleman’s show, two Thai boxing fights and then strippers on straight afterwards. I was 15 years old, this was the best time of my life,” he recalled.

Pimblett hails from Liverpool while Harrison is from Leeds. The two cities are separated by 100kms but their careers have verged in very different directions.

Pimblett signed with the UFC after impressing with British promotion Cage Warriors. He has only fought twice inside the octagon but has picked up $50,000 USD bonuses after both performances.

Well travelled

Harrison had already travelled all over the world to compete in Muay Thai before signing with ONE Championship in 2018. But it has given the 36 year old a much higher profile than ever before and Pimblett says he is a fan,

“I proper enjoy ONE FC lad. I do. I really like watching it. And the MMA. And obviously I love the hydration system that they do. The weight cutting system,” said Pimblett.

Pimblett will be a veteran of tough weight cuts and knows exactly what it feels like to struggle to work off the last few pounds in a sauna just hours before a big fight. So it is no surprise he is casting covetous glances across the globe at a promotion that allows fighters to compete at a higher weight but puts enforceable limits on dehydration.

While Harrison has been promised a title shot Pimblett will need to win at least one more fight. He faces Jordan Leavitt at UFC London later this month.

Both Englishmen might be competing in different sports for different promotions but they are clearly fans of each others work and both represent their respective cities with pride.