Michael Chandler details biggest flaw in Paddy Pimblett's game as rivals set UFC 314 fight
02/21/2025 04:34 AM
Paddy Pimblett finally gets his breakthrough fight as he takes on dynamite striker Michael Chandler in the co-main event of UFC 314 in Miami this April.
Pimblett-Chandler was one of numerous announcements from UFC CEO Dana White, who also revealed that Ilia Topuria is vacating his featherweight throne and that Jack Della Maddalena will be Belal Muhammad’s first welterweight title defense.
Currently the No. 12 lightweight, Pimblett has been waiting for his opportunity to break into the top spots, sporting a six-fight UFC winning streak. On the other hand, Chandler rides a two-fight losing streak and has won two of his six UFC appearances.
This hasn’t stopped ‘Iron Mike’ from poking holes in Pimblett’s UFC ascension.
‘Whole different ball game,’ Michael Chandler thinks 25-minute fight will expose Paddy Pimblett’s weaknesses
Chandler has had thirteen five-round fights in his professional career, which is more than half the fights Pimblett has had overall. He believes the 25-minute pace will be too much for his British adversary. Chandler described these “deep waters” in an interview with ESPN MMA’s Brett Okamoto on February 21.
“Obviously in his UFC debut he got dropped. . . I think he lost [the Jared Gordon fight],” Chandler remarked. “I do think he was fading in the Tony Ferguson fight, and now he’s locked into the cage for 25 minutes against one of the most ferocious guys in the lightweight division.
“I can fight 50 minutes, let alone 25 minutes. . . . These are gonna be deep waters he’s never been in before. . . . I prepare perfectly; It’s gonna be a whole different ball game when you’re locked in there for 25 minutes.”
The American wrestler might be overlooking Pimblett’s three Cage Warriors title fights, in which two went the full 25 minutes. ‘The Baddy’ defeated UFC veteran Julian Erosa in his first Cage Warriors featherweight title defense, which was a 25-minute fight.
Paddy Pimblett’s rocky UFC career
Chandler makes a fair evaluation of Pimblett’s UFC run so far. The Liverpudlian fighter made his highly-anticipated debut against Luigi Vendramini at UFC Vegas 36 in September 2021, where he was almost floored in the opening sequence by a crushing left hand.
Pimblett recovered nicely to secure the knockout – and a performance bonus – to put his name on the map.
Following this, Pimblett took on another relatively unknown fighter, Rodrigo Vargas, who also landed at will, spinning Pimblett’s bonnet on its axle with a solid right hand. Pimblett grounded his opponent before pulling off a finish, but fan sentiment for Pimblett wasn’t too high, considering how much he was being clipped against low-level UFC competition.
Pimblett secured a nice win against Jordan Leavitt before entering his most controversial fight against Jared Gordon at UFC 282. Pimblett’s unanimous decision victory over Gordon is considered one of the most controversial scores of 2023. 24/24 media members scored the fight for Gordon, and 90.3 percent of 3,256 fan scorecards worked in favor of the American, per MMA Decisions.
Since this fight, Pimblett has picked up two more wins. Fans have pointed out ‘The Baddy’s’ tendency to leave his chin hanging on striking exchanges and his habit of dropping his hands when entering range with jabs and rear hands. Gordon capitalized on this nicely by slipping the jab and ripping Pimblett with overhand strikes – which happen to be Chandler’s preferred method of finish.
