Paddy Pimblett made a statement with his win over Michael Chandler at their UFC 315 clash last month. The charismatic lightweight contender absolutely battered and bloodied ‘Iron’ en route to a stoppage win in the third round, after which he finds himself in the vaunted 155-pound title picture.
While the Englishman made the victory over Chandler look easy, proving his critics wrong, there were things in the former Bellator champion’s game that did surprise Pimblett.
“He tried to wrestle. But obviously we prepared for it, but I didn’t see it coming. I thought he was just going to try and take me head off like he does with other people. Like, I thought I was close to submitting him once or twice when I was on the bottom. So I was thinking ‘wow, why is he even doing this?” Pimblett told Adam Catterall.
“And I went for a kimura, jumped to that flying triangle. And even all the time that he was controlling me, he hardly hit me, you know what I mean? And you need to get damaged, don’t you. I think he don’t know why he started to wrestle. Everyone’s asked me as well ‘did he feel strong?’ And I’m like not really, didn’t really feel that strong at all,” ‘Paddy the Baddy’ added.
April 12, 2025, Miami, Fl, Miami, Fl, United States: Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett meet in the octagon for a 3-round bout at UFC 314 – Volkanovski vs Lopes at Kesaya Center on April 12, 2025 in Miami, FL /PxImages Miami, Fl United States – ZUMAp175 20250412_zsa_p175_412 Copyright: xLouisxGrassex
Indeed, Chandler surprisingly initiated three takedowns in the first round and four in the second, which is totally out of character for ‘Iron’. After all, the Missouri native is a pure striker, who likes to engage in wild strike-fests against his opponents for the sheer entertainment factor.
Not to mention the American veteran had made clear that he would be looking to knockout Pimblett at their UFC 315 clash. So him being the one to try and take Pimblett to the ground in their fight surprised almost everyone, most of all Pimblett, who was expecting ‘Iron’ to live up to his reputation and throw the kitchen sink at him. So you can understand Pimblett’s surprise. But with the win behind him, the English superstar is looking forward to big things– like fighting for the title next year.
Paddy Pimblett explains why him vs. Ilia Topuria is the second biggest fight in the UFC
Paddy Pimblett probably needs one more win over another top ranked guy to get the title shot. And the Englishman seems to agree. Speaking to Catterall, the Liverpool native revealed that he is looking to fight for the title early next year, preferably in Miami, where he scored his fantastic win over Michael Chandler.
“Fight whoever’s got the belt in April in Miami, you know what I mean,” Pimblett said. Which prompted Catterall to ask: “Do you envision that being Ilia?”
“Yeah, I think that’s the biggest fight apart from Jon Jones-Aspinall,” the Englishman agreed. “I think that’s the biggest fight the UFC could make– me versus Ilia. There’s loads of history in it, like, there’s bad blood. People love all that, when you actually think back to the altercation in the London hotel, from that moment to actually leading us to a lightweight world title fight, I mean that is a crazy narrative.”
Pimblett is right, there is quite a history between him and Ilia Topuria. The duo did get into a scuffle in 2022 at a London hotel that led to things like hand sanitizers and tissue paper being thrown. Pimblett had previously made some comments about Topuria’s native Georgia, which made ‘El Matador’ really upset.
So there is very real bad blood between the two men, which could set up a title clash between them. But first, Topuria needs to win the title at UFC 317. Which won’t be an easy thing to do since he is facing the legendary Charles Oliveira. What do you think about Paddy Pimblett’s comments about the Michael Chandler fight?
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