UFC legend Demetrious Johnson made a bold claim about one of the biggest names fighting at UFC 314.
Demetrious Johnson has seen some of the best and worst fighters that the UFC has had to offer during the promotion’s ascent to the top of mixed martial arts. He knows potential greatness when he sees it, and one of UFC 314’s biggest names led him to make a bold prediction.
UFC 314 features a stacked card this Saturday in Miami, featuring a title fight main event between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes. After Ilia Topuria’s announced move to lightweight, the UFC matchmakers wasted no time in booking the Volkanovski vs. Lopes fight for the vacant featherweight championship.
But the UFC 314 co-main event features a lot of stakes, and the potential coronation of a new lightweight title challenger.
Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett will square off in the UFC 314 co-headliner in what’s being described as the ‘people’s main event’ by fight fans. While Pimblett hasn’t fought an opponent of Chandler’s caliber, he enters UFC 314 with a lot of deserved hype ahead of the massive jump in competition.
Pimblett, unblemished thus far in his UFC tenure, could potentially be one win away from a title shot if he gets past Chandler this weekend. For Johnson, as long as Pimblett stays on the right path in and out of the cage, the UK star will surely hoist UFC gold.
During a recent breakdown on his YouTube channel, Johnson tabbed Pimblett as a future UFC champion.
“I can’t wait to see him get to the point where… I think one day he’ll be the champion,” Johnson said of Pimblett. “If he doesn’t, he’ll be like one of the guys who were really good but never were champions. Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez…
“He does everything right as of now.”
Pimblett enters UFC 314 as one of the lightweight division’s brightest stars and has quickly ingratiated himself with the UFC fanbase after becoming a megastar overseas. A win over Chandler would catapult Pimblett’s stock and put him firmly in the lightweight title conversation.
Paddy Pimblett admitted his most controversial UFC win was ‘lucky’ ahead of UFC 314
Despite Johnson’s big prediction and Pimblett’s success, the UK star’s UFC tenure hasn’t played out without some controversy. Pimblett recently admitted his controversial victory over Jared Gordon at UFC 282 was ‘lucky’ after years of fan backlash over the scorecards.
After defeating Gordon, Pimblett earned recent wins over King Green and Tony Ferguson to earn a spot in the lightweight Top 15. If he gets past Chandler at UFC 314, Pimblett could be next in line to face a top contender, after sparking a new feud with Arman Tsarukyan in recent days.
Tsarukyan was supposed to headline UFC 311 opposite Islam Makhachev before withdrawing on hours’ notice due to injury. UFC CEO Dana White says Tsarukyan will need to win at least one fight before getting another title shot following the last-second pullout.
Pimblett has been extremely critical of Tsarukyan’s withdrawal after UFC 311. Joe Rogan has also theorized that Tsarukyan wasn’t truthful about the reasoning behind the shocking withdrawal, claiming that a botched weight cut was to blame.
Pimblett could be on a collision course with Tsarukyan if he’s victorious at UFC 314 this weekend. As we await Makhachev’s next title fight, Pimblett has the chance to set himself apart from the pack against Chandler.
