Paddy Pimblett could be just one win away from fighting for the lightweight title following the biggest win of his career at UFC 314.
Paddy Pimblett showcased exactly why there was a lot of early hype around his name when he dominated Michael Chandler in the UFC 314 co-main event.
Pimblett went on to score the third-round finish, picking up what is his most impressive win under the UFC banner so far.
Following the win, ‘The Baddy’ called out several UFC lightweights, including the biggest star in the sport, Conor McGregor, after the Irishman declared his interest in fighting the winner before the event.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Although the 30-year-old Brit is keen on a potential clash with ‘The Notorious’, in what would be one of the biggest fights in the sport’s history, UFC Hall of Famer, Michael Bisping has a different suggestion.
With ‘The Baddy’ likely now ranked inside the top eight of the 155lb division, he is potentially only one win away from securing himself a shot at the title.
Having said that, immediately after the event, UFC boss Dana White suggested that Pimblett is already in the title conversation, applauding his win over ‘Iron’ Mike.
However, Bisping believes a fight against former champion, Charles Oliveira, could play as a number one contender fight for both fighters and is what makes the most sense next.
“We know he called everyone out on the microphone afterwards, I love it, I love that he called out all of the top guys,” Bisping began to explain in a video on his YouTube channel.
“He ain’t gonna get a title shot against Islam Makhachev, I think that’s gonna go to Ilia Topuria… He made a special emphasis on (fighting) Charles Oliveira. I think that’s the fight that’s got to get made.
“Paddy Pimblett’s jiu-jitsu is fantastic, Charles Oliveira is the submission king, he’s got the most bonuses, he’s got the most finishes, he’s a former champion and doesn’t have a fight booked right now, this should be it,” Bisping continued.
‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira is seemingly holding out for a title rematch against Islam Makhachev, however, he is unlikely to be the next challenger.
“Who knew we’d be having this conversation, Paddy Pimblett vs Charles Oliveira, a number one contender fight, that’d be incredible,” Bisping continued.
The fan-favorite Brazilian has the most submission wins in UFC history with 16 and is widely regarded as the best jiu-jitsu practitioner in the promotion.
Despite that, the confident Brit believes he has a stronger submission game that Oliveira, and is keen to show it in a fight against the former king of the division.
“I wanna be a world champion, I’m gonna be a world champion, and beating a former champion like Charles Oliveira who had two title defenses, he gets called the best submission artist the UFC has ever seen,” Pimblett began to explain at the post-fight presser.
“I’d love to go up against that because I think I’ve got better submissions than Charles Oliveira,” he continued.
