Paddy Pimblett believes he is just two fights away from challenging for the UFC lightweight title.
‘The Baddy’ returns to action on April 13 in the co-main event of UFC 314 against Michael Chandler in Miami.
Pimblett currently occupies the No.12 spot in the lightweight rankings but would enter the top 10 with a win over his No.7 rated foe.
Providing he beats Chandler, Pimblett plans to beat a high-calibre opponent in the second half of 2025 to secure himself a shot at Islam Makhachev’s 155lbs crown.
“Probably only two fights this year,” he told JNMEDIA.
“Beat Michael Chandler, fight in Abu Dhabi in October, beat someone like Charles [Oliveira] and then fight for the belt next year.”
A blockbuster showdown with Charles Oliveira promises to produce fireworks.
Both men are elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners who aren’t afraid to go toe to toe on the feet.
Oliveira beat Chandler for a second time last November via a dominant unanimous decision after previously picking himself up off the canvas to knock out the American in May 2021 for the UFC lightweight strap.
He ended up losing the title on the scales ahead of his bout with Justin Gaethje in what would have been his second defence before failing to regain the belt against Islam Makhachev in 2022.
Since then, he has traded wins and losses with the divisional elite and now finds himself at No.2 at 155lbs behind Arman Tsarukyan, who he lost out to via a tight split decision last April in a title eliminator.
He would serve as a more than worthy opponent to catapult Pimblett straight into a world title shot in 2026.
GettyOliveira is ranked No.2 at lightweight and serves as an appealing fight for Pimblett[/caption]
Last year, Renato Moicano was at the top of Pimblett’s hit list as he attempted to make inroads into the top 15.
But if he beats Chandler, Pimblett believes that fight won’t make sense anymore.
“No, Moicano is going to be below me once I beat Chandler,” he added.
One fight that has been heavily talked about since Pimblett entered the UFC is a clash with Conor McGregor.
While Pimblett would happily fight McGregor due to the money attached to him, he doesn’t believe he brings much else to the table.
“It is one of them, it could happen,” he said of a possible fight with McGregor.
“I don’t rule anything out. Ask any MMA fighter around featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, if there is one person they would want to fight it is Conor McGregor.
“And that is just for money. We all know how much money that is going to put on the table.
“If you could pick one person to fight every single person in the world is going to pick Conor McGregor and that is just because of the money, not because of anything else.
“We are prizefighters at the end of the day, it is that simple.”
