MMA rankings July 2026: UFC has its next Conor McGregor in Paddy Pimblett

Out with The Notorious, and in with The Baddy.

The new low to which Conor McGregor’s torpedoed combat sports career sunk stole all the headlines, but Paddy Pimblett showed Saturday in the UFC 329 co-main event why he just might be the heir apparent as the promotion’s most marketable star.

Pimblett somehow managed to get his highly capable opponent, Benoît Saint Denis, choked unconscious in less time than it took for a one-legged McGregor to be shut down by the referee in his deflating loss to Max Holloway. The Scouser stopped the Frenchman in just 52 seconds; Holloway was gifted with a win the moment the Irishman landed awkwardly throwing a foolish jumping high kick and blew out his knee just three days before his 38th birthday, but officially it registered as a TKO at 1:09 of Round 1.

For all of his hype since arriving in the UFC five years ago, the build to this point had been slow. A steady diet of borderline major promotional talent and prospects got the ball rolling. Next came the mix of sturdy veterans and (past-prime) names; even Justin Gaethje nearly fit the latter category of mid-to-late-30s warriors, though the clubhouse leader for Fighter of the Year proved his mettle against Pimblett en route to claiming the undisputed lightweight crown last month against Ilia Topuria.