Denis Frimpong likes being hated, so he didn’t mind the reaction following his viral spat with Paddy Pimblett.
That’s why the 30-year-old MMA star from Dublin, Ireland, will not feel out of place when he enters enemy territory for his return to fighting at OKTAGON 71 on Saturday.
‘The Menace’ takes on Germany’s Arijan Topallaj in the latter’s backyard as they sit at the top of a stacked OKTAGON MMA card at BMW Park in Munich.
Back in January, Frimpong had a strange online feud with UFC star Pimblett that was settled in the most emphatic way possible.
Frimpong had taken a swipe at the Liverpudlian, saying he wouldn’t be fit to make UFC London in March in what seemed like an attack on Pimblett’s fluctuating weight.
The two went back-and-forth on social media before Pimblett decided to venture over to Frimpong’s gym, Manchester Top Team, and both men had it out.
They both exchanged multiple strikes and kicks, but when Frimpong missed a right hook, Pimblett took the Irishman’s back and quickly locked in a choke.
Realising he wasn’t going to escape, Frimpong tapped out, before chaos ensued when Pimblett refused to let go and both men’s teams intervened.
It was understood the two had agreed to no tapping from submissions, but it seemed not everyone was aware.
The altercation sparked a massive reaction across all forms of social media and the clip of both men sparring went viral.
Frimpong responded at the time, telling people ‘don’t chat s*** you don’t know,’ and speaking to talkSPORT.com ahead of his fight this weekend, ‘The Menace’ reflected on the encounter.
“It definitely, definitely got my name out a bit more,” he said. “It definitely got some eyes on my next few fights.
“It got me a lot of haters [too] and I like having haters. I like having fans but I like having haters.
“For every three haters you get one fan, do you know what I’m saying?
“I got a few fans out of it, got a few haters out of it and I showed my level.
“Listen, some people are going to say, ‘Oh yeah, he choked you,’ whatever, whatever.
“It’s like yeah, he’s top ten in the world. If people think that I’m that easy, then cool.
“I’m glad because people were thinking I was a hard fight, no one wanted to take the fight against me and now I’ve got fights coming out of my a***.
“People obviously saw what Paddy did and think, ‘Oh I could do that,’ and they can’t.”
Frimpong is undefeated in his last four MMA fights and has only been defeated twice in his professional career.
Unlike most fighters, he only started training in the sport when he was 22, predominantly drilling jiu-jitsu, before transitioning to MMA in 2021.
He’s only been in the sport for just over two years, and in that time has accrued nine pro fights, with six of them coming under the OKTAGON MMA banner.
Frimpong worked for a motorbike insurance company to pay for his jiu-jitsu tournaments, but he knew his passion was for mixed martial arts all along.
So, after the sudden wave of growth of MMA in Ireland following Conor McGregor‘s famous UFC run, Frimpong took the leap.
“Unfortunately he was [an inspiration], considering what he’s become now,” Frimpong added, speaking on McGregor and his early introduction to the sport.
“But he was at the time. He grew the sport in what it is in Ireland to be honest and made it viable.
“It was never a thing back then, so you’ve got to give him his respect and his dues for that.
“He was definitely a massive influence on me. He’s come up and the way he sells himself, the way he sold the fights, he was obviously a stroke of his elite for the time.”
Frimpong’s opponent, Topallaj, is 7-1 in his pro career, but he’s fresh off the back of a defeat to Hafeni Nafuka last October.
Nafuka also fights this weekend at OKTAGON 71 against Hull’s bright prospect George Staines, who told talkSPORT.com that he wants to be a UFC champion by the end of his career ahead of the fight.
Liverpudlian Shem Rock also fights on the card against Turkey’s Attila Korkmaz.
Frimpong’s fight is the co-main event as he looks to extend his unbeaten streak to five in a row.
“There is no ceiling for me,” he concluded. “It’s one step at a time, one fight at a time.
“If each win leads me to then become the OKTAGON world champion then so be it.
“If I keep winning, good things will happen inevitably. I plan to continue my win streak.
“We saw it with Jack Della Maddalena [at UFC 315]. He went 0-2 in his first two fights, then went on an 18-fight winning streak that took all the way to becoming UFC champion.
“I believe I can do that. I don’t think it’s out of the way for me. If the OKTAGON belt is there on that path, so be it.
“If not, then so be it. I just keep winning each fight as it comes and see where it takes me.”
talkSPORT.com will have you covered for all things OKTAGON 71 live from BMW Park in Munich, Germany, on Saturday night.
