Paddy Pimblett, currently ranked No. 12 at 155 pounds, has an opportunity to blast his way into the division Top 10 when he collides with longtime lightweight contender, Michael Chandler, in the UFC 314 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event next month in Miami.
Just don’t expect this top contender to be watching.
“Charles [Oliveira], he just beat Chandler,” Pimblett told ESPN Deportes. “If Charles gets a title shot off beating Chandler, then I want a title shot when I beat Chandler.”
Oliveira defeated Chandler at UFC 262 in early 2021 then again at UFC 309 last fall.
Pimblett, 30, will likely need to saw through another couple of contenders before securing his crack at the crown, simply because of the logjam in the top half of the division — which includes the recent addition of former hand-sanitizing champion, Ilia Topuria.
Lightweight mainstay and future UFC hall of famer, Dustin Poirier, would certainly provide a stiff test (and an action-packed fight), but it sounds like “The Diamond” is interested in “legends only” for his New Orleans swan song.
“Well, [Poirier] said something about me the other day, didn’t he? Saying it’s legends only, and he thinks Chandler would beat me,” Pimblett (22-3) said. “I think he should have more than one fight. He looked good in his last fight, I don’t understand why you’d retire when you look good. But, he must an idiot. I think I beat Dustin Poirier, so I’d love to fight him.”
None of this matters unless Pimblett emerges victorious at UFC 314; but don’t worry, “The Baddy” will still have a “bright future” after getting sliced and diced by the “buzzsaw.”
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
