Paddy Pimblett bolstered his world title ambitions with a spectacular performance at UFC 314.
Pimblett dominated Chandler from start to finish and the referee was forced to stop the contest following brutal ground-and-pound from the Liverpudlian in round three.
Pimblett is now undefeated in seven straight UFC bouts and arguably just one fight away from a world title shot.
He was the No.12 ranked lightweight before UFC 314, but victory means he will surge above Chandler and steal his seventh spot.
‘The Baddy’, who said his UFC 314 bout would be his toughest yet, named the likes of Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier as all potential future opponents after his win.
All three of those lightweights have a victory over Chandler, who has now lost three UFC fights on the bounce, and has just one win in his last six bouts.
They also sit at the top lightweight rankings, with Dan Hooker, Max Holloway, Arman Tsarukyan and champion Islam Makhachev making up the rest.
Pimblett and Tsarukyan exchanged verbal blows online ahead of UFC 314 and the Armenian could also be a suitable future opponent.
Pimblett, a former Cage Warriors champion, made his UFC debut in September 2021, knocking out Luigi Vendramini in the first round.
He then picked up back-to-back submission victories over Kazula Vargas and Jordan Leavitt in 2022, before going the distance and picking up wins over Jared Gordon and UFC legend Tony Ferguson.
The Merseyside-born stat then picked up a statement submission victory over King Green in Manchester last July, which was his last fight before UFC 314.
A win against Oliveira, Poirier or Gaethje would earn Pimblett a title shot.
The 30-year-old could even find himself in that position if one of the above names found themselves injured or had to withdraw from a bout.
More to follow…
