Tom Taylor: A lot of people were upset when this matchup was announced, but if Tony Ferguson is going to stick around to risk a seventh-straight loss, Paddy Pimblett is the kind of opponent he should be fighting.
While Pimblett is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC, it's pretty evident at this point that he's a fringe contender at best. He should have lost his last fight to Jared Gordon. His other UFC wins came against low-level opposition, and he was nearly knocked out in one of those fights.
Even a shop-worn version of Ferguson should be able to catch him with something. Let's not forget that he hurt both Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler before he lost to them.
Call it an elbow and follow-up punches, and a bad night for "The Baddy."
Prediction: Ferguson by TKO, Rd. 2
Lyle Fitzsimmons: OK, here's where Tom and I disagree. Bigly.
Pimblett may or may not climb to a title level on his fighting merit. But I had him winning the fight with Gordon, and it seems to me that Ferguson is no better than a familiar facsimile of the dynamic fighter who strung together 12 straight wins from 2013-2019.
He's lost six straight since and has been finished four straight times. So, regardless of where Pimblett's career arc might ultimately take him, the Englishman is the better man now.
Prediction: Pimblett by unanimous decision
Haris Kruskic: Is this the first time in UFC history that someone on a six-fight win streak faces someone on a six-fight losing streak? Unreal booking.
I'm picking Paddy Pimblett for similar reasons I picked Rakhmonov. UFC loves squeezing as much juice out of a veteran fighter with name value as they can, regardless of what their recent record looks like. This performance should only put more eyes on Pimblett.
Prediction: Pimblett by TKO, Rd. 2
