Paddy Pimblett has moved up four places in the UFC lightweight rankings after beating Michael Chandler on Saturday night.
The Liverpudlian entered his UFC 314 co-main event bout ranked No.12 at 155lbs while Chandler was placed five places ahead of him at No.7.
But as of the rankings update on Monday night, Pimblett is now rated No.8 overall following his third-round TKO victory.
Chandler, meanwhile, plummeted five spots to Pimblett’s original position of No.12.
Pimblett didn’t complete the direct switch to No.7 as Mateusz Gamrot was given a boost from No.8 to No.7.
Additionally, Joel Alvarez replaced Ignacio Bahamondes at No.15 ahead of his return to the Octagon on May 10 against Benoit Saint-Denis.
The rest of the rankings remain unchanged, with a top five of Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier all sitting below reigning champion Islam Makhachev.
Pimblett is expected to return to the Octagon at the back end of the year in a meaningful fight that would serve to elevate him into a title shot should he win it.
After overcoming Chandler, Pimblett called for a fight with a top-five opponent.
“[I want] anyone in the top four, top five,” he said in the immediate aftermath.
“I want that world title. Laugh all you want. What now? You gang of mushrooms.
“I want Dustin [Poirier], Justin [Gaethje], Charles [Oliveira] or the little posh boy Arman [Tsarukyan] – any of them four.
UFC lightweight rankings
Champion: Islam Makhachev
- Arman Tsarukyan
- Charles Oliveira
- Justin Gaethje
- Max Holloway
- Dustin Poirier
- Dan Hooker
- Mateusz Gamrot
- Paddy Pimblett
- Beneil Dariush
- Renato Moicano
- Rafael Fiziev
- Michael Chandler
- Benoit Saint-Denis
- Grant Dawson
- Joel Alvarez
“I respect Dustin, Justin and Charles. Charles is the biggest legend out of them all.
“And he gets called the best submission artist the UFC’s ever seen. Well, I dispute that, I’m here.”
Pimblett is eyeing up a date in October over in Abu Dhabi for his next fight.
The UFC have booked a Fight Night card for July 26 in the United Arab Emirates capital, which is yet to have any fights added to it at the time of writing.
However, there are also plans to stage a main show there in the autumn.
Oliveira appears to be the most likely opponent for Pimblett’s next fight.
