Michael Bisping doesn’t think Paddy Pimblett crossed the line with his comments towards Dan Hooker.
Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC), who challenges Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 on Jan. 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+), used a rather inappropriate analogy when criticizing Hooker’s grappling in his loss to Arman Tsarukyan, prompting “The Hangman” to fire back.
Advertisement
Fellow Brit Bisping understands the backlash, but views it as misunderstood banter.
“He was trying to explain how bad Dan Hooker’s grappling was,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “He used kind of an unhinged analogy, and he is getting absolutely murdered online. Now, I am not going to defend Paddy, but I am going to kind of defend him, if you know what I’m saying. He said that Dan Hooker’s grappling was so bad that he could not stop an attacker going after his mom. He said that, which was a wild line. He was just having a laugh, and I know a lot of people are shocked by this, and I know a lot of people are saying that it’s out of bounds and off limits, have a bit of respect, you’re a trash human being.
“People are really going after Paddy for this, and obviously, Dan Hooker came out with a wild response as well. You got to remember, he’s a lad from Liverpool, where they do have a great sense of humor, but also, it can be a little cutting, it can be a little bit dark, and he was speaking to another English guy. I’m not defending the fact that he brought up Dan Hooker’s mom, he should not have done that. But in the context, it wasn’t that bad. He never said anything too bad. He was basically just talking about the grappling of Dan Hooker.”
Hooker’s response was personal, where he referenced Pimblett’s late friend Ricky. While Bisping doesn’t agree, he understands why Hooker (24-13 MMA, 14-9 UFC) decided to go there.
Advertisement
“Given what Paddy said, the gloves are off,” Bisping added. “All is fair in love and war.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst defends Paddy Pimblett’s controversial dig on Dan Hooker
