The stakes are high in the co-main event of UFC 314 with one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year to date.
Two of the lightweight division’s biggest personalities will collide in a crossroads encounter of sorts as one man looks to continue his climb as the other tries to bounce back.
Paddy Pimblett was already a star before he stepped foot inside the Octagon but his stock has only continued to grow throughout his winning streak at 155-pounds.
On the other hand, his opponent could profit from Pimblett’s momentum whilst some question how much Michael Chandler has got left in the tank.
There’s already a lot on the line here but an added narrative was added to the matchup when Conor McGregor chimed in about Pimblett vs Chandler ahead of April 12.
Paddy Pimblett and Michael Chandler aren’t paying Conor McGregor too much interest right now
Both Paddy Pimblett and Michael Chandler have been spoken about in relation to Conor McGregor for several years at this point.
With ‘The Baddy’ being the newest star to arrive in the lightweight division, a fight between him and ‘The Notorious’ would launch his status into the stratosphere.
For Chandler, he came within weeks of sharing the Octagon with McGregor at UFC 303 until an injury postponed and ultimately cancelled their long awaited showdown.
Both men were asked about the recent post from ‘The Mac’ at the UFC 314 pre-fight press conference where Pimblett stated that it’s something he’s interested in but his sole focus is on April 12 right now.
“Yeah I seen it, obviously, I got sent it by a good few people. You know, I’d welcome that fight, that’s where the money’s at but I can’t look past Michael. I’ve got to fight Michael on Saturday night and get the win here, that’s all that matters.”
Chandler, who has spent a significant amount of time waiting for the Irishman to make his return, has doubts about how serious McGregor is about competing again.
After waiting on the side lines for the former UFC champ-champ to make his return, ‘Iron’ Mike is concentrating on making up for lost time by remaining active at this stage of his career.
“I don’t know. I’m sure he’s watching. He watches and he’s very interested in coming back but can he put together a training camp, that’s the real question. We don’t know. All I know is you can see by my actions, fighting Charles Oliveira in November and now fighting five months later, Paddy Pimblett, putting my ranking on the line, going out to brave the unknown, I’m going to stay active.
“The first 26 months in the organization, I weighed in six times, fought five times. Fight of the night, fight of the year, debut of the year, knockout of the year. All I do is put on great fights and I do it for you guys and on Saturday night, we’re gonna do it again. I don’t really care what Conor tweets, if he comes back, we got to finish The Ultimate Fighter 31 and he’s gonna be impressed by my performance on Saturday night.”
What’s at stake for Paddy Pimblett and Michael Chandler?
Despite his recent comments, it seems unlikely that a fight with Conor McGregor will be waiting on the other side for either of the men involved in the co-main event.
There are still big lightweight stakes at play though, especially for Paddy Pimblett who would catapult himself into the title picture with a win.
This is the first time in his UFC career that Michael Chandler finds himself in a position where he’s defending his ranking against a rising contender.
A win might not put the former title challenger right back into the mix but it will show that he still belongs in the top 10 of one of the most stacked divisions in the sport.
