All respect went out the window when Paddy Pimblett came face-to-face with Tony Ferguson for the first time ahead of their fight at UFC 296.
‘The Baddy’ has admitted he is a fan of the former interim UFC lightweight champion in the build-up to their clash at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
However, that didn’t stop him from hurling insults – mainly about fashion choices - at the UFC legend during a pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
“Take your shades off, lad,” Pimblett said, pointing out the fact Ferguson was wearing sunglasses indoors.
“You tried to stare me out before and looked away first.
“I’ve already beaten you mentally.”
READ MORE ON PADDY PIMBLETT
Pimblett, who now wears a Rolex thanks to rap icon Drake, followed that up by pointing out the watch ‘El Cucuy’ had on during their first verbal sparring session.
He added: “Put the mic down, with your s**** watch on.
“Did you get that watch out of a Kinder Egg?
“You f****** bum!”
Most read in MMA
The 28-year-old rounded off his brutal assessment of Ferguson’s press conference outfit by questioning his decision to wear a suit and tie.
“I can’t believe you’ve actually got a suit on, lad,” Pimblett continued.
UFC fighter Tony Ferguson becomes first person to complete David Goggins' brutal 'Hell week' workout“Every other day you are like an eight-year-old who has dressed himself for the first time.
“You look like a f****** idiot!”
Pimblett boasts a perfect 4-0 record as a UFC fighter, but the jury is still out on his ability to compete with the best after a controversial decision win over Jared Gordon at UFC 282 last December.
Ferguson was once regarded as the best 155lb fighter on the planet, but he is now way past his prime and riding a six-fight losing streak into UFC 296.
Despite that, he’s confident of turning things around against Pimblett, who he vowed to make look like a ‘ketchup sandwich’ this weekend.
"It's going to go the way I want. I’ve already visualized it, I've trained my ass off, I don't see this kid beating me,” Ferguson said.
"He's worried about me blocking him on Instagram, sensitive little b******. Wait until you get cut, see your own blood, you're gonna run out of the cage back to mummy."
ncG1vNJzZmiskaG4tLzOq6tnm5%2BifLS8zquraGlmbIV3fZBop5qclK56sbXMm6OerKRiwbC62GadnqqXqsCwuoywmK2bmGLCp6%2BMa3BvZaCnsrS%2FjJymp56Vp7Kvr8Ro