Paddy Pimblett picked up the biggest win of his career thus far on Saturday night at UFC 314, beating former title challenger Michael Chandler.
Not only did ‘The Baddy’ win, but he utterly dominated Michael Chandler on his way to finishing him with ground-and-pound in round three of their five-round co-main event.
And with his win, Paddy Pimblett is now firmly in the title conversation at lightweight, potentially having been given a boost by Islam Makhachev, who said he would fight the Brit whenever he made it into the top 10.
‘The Baddy’ is now ranked inside the top eight of the lightweight division following the UFC rankings update on Monday, setting him up for a huge next outing.
Dustin Poirier reacts to Pimblett’s win over Chandler at UFC 314
The 155lb division is in somewhat of a transitional period towards the top, with older contenders still occupying spots in the top five.
One of them is former interim champion Dustin Poirier, who has, of course, shared the cage with Michael Chandler previously.
‘The Diamond’ shared his thoughts on Pimblett’s performance, admitting that he can no longer count the 30-year-old out, considering his rise up the ranks.
“Dude, he’s legit. How can I deny him anymore? Chandler’s a tough guy. I didn’t think Chandler looked great. I thought he had a good first round, got Paddy down and wrist rode him against the fence, he looked flat after that,” Poirier told MMAJunkie.
“He looked heavy on his feet, he looked exhausted… Maybe it’s his time now, but only he knows that. I definitely thought Chandler didn’t look great, but not taking away from Paddy’s performance.
“Paddy went out there and dropped the first round, came back confident, hit Chandler with big shots, I mean, took him down, who would’ve had that on their bingo card? Paddy is the real deal… You have to take him for real now… His next fight has to be a really big one,” Poirier continued.
Pimblett called out several lightweight contenders for his next fight, with his first pick being a title eliminator fight against Charles Oliveira, which seemingly makes a lot of sense.
Despite that, Poirier has suggested that Pimblett’s next fight come against number six ranked lightweight, Dan Hooker.
“For me as a fan, put him in there with Dan Hooker. That would be an incredible fight. The build-up would be fun. Dan’s gonna stand and trade with him, Dan has good takedown defense, good on the ground, that’s the fight, I think,” Poirier continued.
Dustin Poirier teases his own UFC comeback
‘The Diamond’ didn’t add himself into the conversation as potential next opponents for the Brit as he revealed that he already has his next fight booked and that it will be announced soon.
Poirier’s next fight is being labeled as his retirement fight after the former title challenger said he has one fight left in him.
“Behind the scenes, I’ve got stuff so I can’t entertain (a fight against Paddy)… In the next, I think, two weeks, you’ll know,” Poirier revealed.
Rumors have continuously swirled that Poirier’s retirement fight will come against Max Holloway as a BMF title fight and a rematch of their 2019 interim title fight.
