Charles Oliveira is open to fighting Paddy Pimblett – but only if the Liverpudlian wins at UFC 314.
Former UFC lightweight champion Oliveira, who is currently the No.2 ranked fighter at 155 pounds, believes Pimblett is in for a ‘really tough test’ in Miami next month.
But admitted his opponent, Michael Chandler, must attempt to finish the Brit early to avoid a ‘very talented’ Pimblett from pulling away in the fight.
Pimblett faces Chandler in the co-feature at UFC 314, before Alexander Volkanovski contests Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight title.
Chandler suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Oliveira after a five-round war in his last outing at UFC 309 in November.
The pair have shared the Octagon for over 30 minutes together having met for the first time in May 2021, when Oliveira knocked out Chandler to win the UFC lightweight title.
‘Do Bronxs’ then defended the 155lb strap against Dustin Poirier before losing it to current champion Islam Makhachev.
Speaking to Oddspedia, Oliveria predicted Pimblett’s fight with Chandler and revealed that he would happily take on the latter should he win at UFC 314.
“I’ve been watching Paddy Pimblett for a while, he talks a lot and the people at the UFC love that,” the 35-year-old from Sao Paulo said.
“But right now he has a really important fight coming up and it’s going to be a really tough test.
“If he keeps climbing the ranks then we are going to fight, that’s for sure.”
Although the Brazilian knocked out Chandler when they first met at UFC 262, both men went back and fourth in a 25-minute brawl only a few months ago.
Chandler had been out of action for two years before his last fight in November, as he had patiently waited for Conor McGregor to accept a clash, but it never came into fruition.
McGregor was a coach alongside Chandler on The Ultimate Fighter, and the latter still wants to put an end to their feud with an eventual fight.
Chandler revealed that his rematch with Oliveira caused him to experience the ‘most pain’ of his life, after the pair had Madison Square Garden on its feet.
A wild fifth and final round witnessed ‘Iron Mike’ attempt to fight back from the depths of defeat and slam his Brazilian counterpart into the canvas twice.
Oliveira thinks his former foe Chandler has to get Pimblett out within two rounds or the American could be in big trouble.
“Michael Chandler is a very aggressive and explosive guy,” he added. “I have nothing but respect for him, he has power in his hands.
“On the other side, you have a younger guy that believes in himself, moves very well and has really good Jiu-Jitsu and also a good stand-up game. He moves well, but experience counts for a lot.
“In the first two rounds Chandler has a chance to knock him out because of how explosive he is.
“But if the fight goes into the third round, I believe it’s going to be hard for Chandler because Paddy is younger and he’s very talented.”
Pimblett vs Chandler takes place on a stacked UFC 313 in Miami on April 12.
Bryce Mitchell and Jean Silva will settle their differences on the main card, while Geoff Neal takes on Fighting Nerd Carlos Prates too.
Former PFL two-division champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire also makes his debut on the card against former featherweight title challenger Yair Rodriguez.
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