Jordan Leavitt has been warned by UFC legend Michael Bisping that he will cause a riot if he beats Paddy Pimblett in London this weekend and does his signature twerk celebration.
The American is Pimblett's third octagon opponent, and will prove a marked step up in opposition after the Brit took care of Luigi Vendramini and Rodrigo Vargas within a round of his first two fights. He has vowed to perform the disrespectful dance over Pimblett should be pick up the victory this weekend, which Bisping warns may not be a smart idea.
Pimblett has been angered by Leavitt's antics leading up to the fight, which is his first on a new lucrative contract that will see him move on from the £9,500 guarantee he was making for his first two outings. He has insisted that he will be the one taunting after the bout, not his rival.
The Scouse fighter is a massive fan favourite, and will have attracted a large portion of the sold-out crowd at The O2 arena on Saturday night. Bisping is concerned that the audience will react violently if Leavitt goes through with his controversial planned celebration.
"Jordan Leavitt, if he ever wins a fight, he likes to twerk," Bisping told fans during a recent YouTube video. "That's what he does every time he wins... Jordan, if you get the job done on Saturday and you twerk we might see a riot in The O2 arena."
The dance move, which is seen by many fans and martial artists as disrespectful of your opponent after having given you a fight, is Leavitt's post-fight signature. He holds a 10-1 professional record, including four UFC wins, and has become known for the gesture.
"At first, I kind of shook my butt as a joke once or twice but then I saw how much hate I got for it," he told Mirror Fighting after the fight was announced . "Then I saw how much hate I got for it, so I am kind of just trolling at this point and doing it just to annoy people.
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"Especially when I'm in a bad mood already whilst cutting weight, I read messages that I think are fan-mail but it's actually hate-mail like 'you're getting knocked out, you suck'. It's okay if I make these people a little bit angry, it doesn't matter too much. At this point I'm just trolling, the twerking will be behind me some day but right now I've still got to p*** off a few more people."
Pimblett doesn't like Leavitt's brand of trolling, and admits that it has annoyed him in the build-up to the fight. He claims that just getting a fight with him has earned the American double his social media following, and vowed to instead do an even more crude gesture when he wins.
“I’ve never minded Jordan Leavitt until like four weeks ago when he started chatting all s***," Pimblett told the UFC Europe Twitter page. "He had about 12,000 followers until his fight with me got announced, now he’s got 30. I’m giving him fans. Chatting all this twerking and all that bulls***. You’re not going to have a chance to twerk lad because I’m going to put you fast in two minutes and then t***** you like we’re in Modern Warfare 2. Watch.”
