Paddy Pimblett put on a flawless performance this past Saturday at UFC 314, but not everyone was hugely impressed with his win.
Michael Chandler fared to be Paddy Pimblett‘s toughest test so far in his career, but when they met in the UFC 314 co-main event on Saturday, Pimblett utterly dominated Chandler on the way to a third-round finish.
Things remained extremely respectful between the two lightweights when Pimblett ran into Chandler backstage, thanking him for affording him the opportunity to fight him.
‘The Baddy’ did, though, get involved in a run-in with UFC welterweight star Colby Covington as the two bizarrely clashed backstage.
Ilia Topuria explains why he wasn’t very impressed with Pimblett’s win
Following the biggest win of his career, the Brit called out several UFC lightweight contenders, including Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Arman Tsarukyan, but someone he did leave out was Ilia Topuria.
Pimblett and Topuria have had an ongoing feud since 2022 when they clashed at the UFC fighter hotel in London.
Reacting to the 30-year-old’s win over ‘Iron’ Mike, Ilia Topuria explained why he wasn’t entirely impressed with Pimblett’s performance.
“He did a great job, he did what he had to do but for me, I’m gonna be completely honest, for me, Chandler was never an extraordinary fighter,” Topuria began to explain during his recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.
“He was an average fighter, like, who did he beat in the UFC? Dan Hooker, yeah,” Topuria laughed as he threw shade on Hooker.
“So he beat Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson, when he was almost 40 years old. At the end of the day, you see wars, it’s a very competitive fight, you see almost a bar fight, two guys exchanging punches, but you don’t see technique or skills. I would never recommend to someone, watch (Michael Chandler) and learn something,” Topuria continued.
Of course, Pimblett could only beat who was put in front of him and his performance is still regarded as an impressive one by the majority of the fanbase, despite Chandler being 1-5 in his last six fights.
Topuria more excited by potential fight against Pimblett than McGregor
Topuria and Pimblett are seemingly on a collision course headed for each other, with ‘La Layenda’ now part of the 155lb division.
The 28-year-old revealed during his interview with Joe Rogan that he has previously been in talks with the UFC and Conor McGregor for a huge super-fight, but things never came to fruition.
However, the Spaniard explained that he is more excited by a potential clash against ‘The Baddy’ and would like for the fight to take place at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
“What excites me more is a fight against Paddy. That fight excites me even more, and if they could put that fight in Spain in the Bernabeu Stadium (it would be amazing),” Topuria said.
