UFC lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett explained the mistake that he made when he fought Justin Gaethje at UFC 324.

Pimblett entered the fight against Gaethje as the betting favorite, but he lost via unanimous decision in a Fight of the Year candidate. Pimblett’s wrestling was ineffective in the fight as he chose to stand and trade with Gaethje, which turned out to be an unwise decision as he lost the fight. Gaethje won the interim UFC lightweight belt in the fight, which earned him a title shot against Ilia Topuria, whom he beat at UFC Freedom 250 in an unbelievable upset.

Now, Pimblett has spoken out about what went wrong in the fight.

Paddy Pimblett Explains What Went Wrong Against Justin Gaethje

Speaking to TNT Sports, Pimblett explained what went wrong in his fight against Gaethje.

According to the Scouser, he lost the fight because he chose to stand and trade with Gaethje instead of using his fight IQ to take a smarter approach to the matchup, and it cost him.

“You’ll see a new version of me, to be honest. You’ll see a completely different version of me from when I fought Gaethje. In my last fight, I said I was going to knock him out, so I just bit down on my mouthpiece and had a scrap with him when I should have followed the game plan like I always do. I always use my fight IQ. In that fight I never. I just wanted to put on a show for everyone. But I’m getting back in the winning column in this one,” Pimblett said.

Paddy Pimblett Returns at UFC 329

Pimblett returns to the Octagon next month at UFC 329 when he battles Benoit Saint Denis. He is currently the betting underdog for the bout, as many are doubting Pimblett after a poor showing against Gaethje. But after Gaethje beat Topuria, some are reconsidering what they think about Pimblett, as the fact that he went the distance with the new UFC lightweight champion is impressive.

This is a huge fight for Pimblett because if he beats Saint Denis, he will move up into the top five of the UFC lightweight division. If he loses, though, he will suffer two straight defeats, which won’t be good for his future career outlook. We’ll see how he performs at UFC 329, but if we are to believe him, he’ll take a smarter approach to this fight.