Jared Gordon Responds To Dana Whites Horrible Game Plan Criticism Of Paddy Pimblett Fight

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Jared Gordon doesn’t have much regret over his performance against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 282, although he wishes the third round had gone a little differently.

After a strong performance through the first two rounds, Gordon opted to press Pimblett against the cage, work from the clinch and look for takedowns rather than attempt to out-maneuver his opponent as he did during the most of the fight.

Turns out Gordon was nursing a painful injured ankle that was limiting his ability to move in round three. So he decided to change his approach for the last five minutes. This strategy led UFC President Dana White to say that Gordon had a horrible game plan and that he dropped out of the fight in the third round; Gordon ultimately lost a highly controversial unanimous decision.

I was upset, but you know what, that was one of the things I regretted not doing a little more, Gordon said of White’s comments in an interview with MMA Fighting. I was winning on the feet, so I should have stayed there, and maybe my ankle could have moved. But it started to stiffen me and hurt me.

I was like okay, I got it against the cage, I win here, I’m going to get taken down, and I went for it. It was tough, he was doing a decent job defending it. I think if I went more on my feet, I might have won.

White didn’t offer much opinion on Pimblett’s performance that night. But Gordon certainly heard a lot about his decision to slow down while trying to get the win.

While it stings to hear that his boss wasn’t happy with how the fight went, Gordon understands White’s position after a back-and-forth battle in the first two rounds.

I don’t blame Dana for saying that, because I was doing well the first two rounds on the feet, and if I had the same kind of turn in the third round, as the first two, then maybe I would make a split decision, says Gordon. It’s one of the things I regret, so I don’t blame him for saying that.

It sucks to hear Dana say that, obviously, but I can’t be mad at him for saying that, because I think he’s partially right. I am not crazy.

Perhaps the weirdest part of White’s problem with Gordon’s strategy is that two judges Doug Crosby and Ron McCarthy won him the third round. It was the score in the first two rounds that cost Gordon the fight.

Either way, Gordon doesn’t quite see how anyone could give Pimblett the third round based on the very small offense he produced while spending the majority of the time back against the cage.

None of this really makes sense when viewed from one angle or the other, Gordon said. The only thing that’s annoying, Well, Jared threw out the third round. Paddy didn’t do anything in round three other than the last 20 seconds, he got a decent position. So for the first four minutes and 30 seconds of me holding him against the fence and beating him up and looking for a takedown he just sat on the fence and maybe did a few nudges and hammer fists.

So he didn’t do anything in the third round either. If anything, I did a lot more in the third round than him, but I can’t change the past.

Gordon remains hopeful that maybe the UFC will let him back with Pimblett in an immediate rematch given the overwhelming backlash from the decision. For now, he just has to try to put the fight behind him, as difficult as that may seem.

Unfortunately, I have to accept the things I can’t change and move on, Gordon said. It’s really hard for me to do that right now. It’s super fresh, and maybe in a week or two I’ll feel different.

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