Joe McColgan: Fighting Paddy Pimblett would be ‘bigger’ than winning Cage Warriors title

Joe McColgan thinks a win over Cage Warriors best-known quantity, Paddy Pimblett, could be more valuable than winning the European promotion’s lightweight title.

Both McColgan and Pimblett have been matched separately for the organization’s milestone marquee, Cage Warriors 100. McColgan takes on fellow highly touted striker, Jai Herbert, and “The Baddy” will look to bounce back from his lightweight title loss to Soren Bak when he takes on Donovon Desmae.

Although McColgan has competed just five times as a professional, the Northern Irish lightweight’s successful outings against experienced competitors like Peter Queally and Sean Carter have allowed him to look towards the top of the 155-pound class for competition.

While his much anticipated bout with Herbert is locked in for Dec. 8, McColgan revealed that he has previously petitioned for fights with both Pimblett and Bak and was willing to cut short a year-long career break in New Zealand to make it happen.

“I had my eyes on Paddy Pimblett; I was gunning for him,” McColgan told Peter Carroll on the latest episode of Eurobash.

“Ian Dean [Cage Warriors matchmaker] can attest to this. I was messaging him, I was messaging Graham Boylan, ‘Give me [Soren] Bak,’ those were the messages going out in March, or, ‘Give me Paddy Pimblett’. I told them I would come home early for those fights, but [Dean and Boylan] didn’t want it, I think they had other plans for me.”

McColgan went on to highlight how he believes fighting Pimblett could potentially put an even bigger spotlight on a fighter’s career than winning the Cage Warriors belt.

“This is prize fighting. Within Cage Warriors, there is really only one prize and that is Paddy ‘The Baddy’. He is bigger than the title. If you’re able to fight Paddy and beat Paddy in Liverpool, that’s as good as winning the title. You’re going to get just as much traction as if you won the Cage Warriors title,” he explained.

“If I was offered to fight Paddy I would drop everything, not a problem. I think Paddy is a great fighter as well, but I’m an incredibly bad style matchup for Paddy. I think Ian Dean and Graham Boylan know that as well and that’s why they wouldn’t give me him.”

Although he thinks being managed by the same team could hinder his chances of getting a shot at the Liverpudlian submission ace, McColgan thinks the fight would make a lot of sense if both men leave Cardiff with wins in December.

“I’m managed by IFM, I think Paddy could be managed by IFM, so it might not be in their interest to have us matched with each other at the moment. But if Paddy wins and I win, and we’re both on the same card, and we’re both up for it and the crowd is up for it, then why not?” he said.