Paddy Pimblett proved he could never be underestimated even before his last UFC victory.
‘The Baddy’ submitted King Green at UFC 304 in Manchester last time out in a fight that was billed as his toughest test yet.
But Pimblett made easy work of his opponent, putting the American to sleep in the first round after locking up a triangle choke submission and sending the UK crowd into a frenzy.
This weekend, Pimblett, 30, returns to action against No.7 ranked lightweight Michael Chandler, which is by far an even harder test for the Liverpudlian.
The Merseyside-born star has even declared himself that it is the biggest fight of his career.
Just like previous bouts, Pimblett is being counted out by members of the MMA community, who don’t believe he has it in him to get past a hard-hitting veteran like Chandler.
However, Pimblett is more than used to beating the odds at this stage of his fighting career.
Back in 2022, he showed it in the strangest of environments when he took on not just one, but 10 of the toughest men on the planet.
The odds were stacked against Pimblett when he endured an intense training camp with the United States Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton in California, before his victory over Jared Gordon.
He was put through his paces by the Marines, having to prove why he was one of the hottest prospects in MMA at the time.
Pimblett was teaching America’s finest a range of techniques when one of the men proposed that he partake in a winner-stays-on submission tournament.
The Liverpudlian, of course, breezed past the Marines, forcing each and every one of them to tap out to triangle chokes, guillotine chokes, rear-naked chokes, and armbars – the same way he got rid of Green two years later.
“You’ve made me do a big crazy work circuit, then I’ve had to f****** roll with every one of you,” Pimblett said afterwards.
“What the f*** boys. I was meant to be doing a three-mile run today, it’s not happening now.
“Lad, this has been one of my hardest workouts this week, you gang of big b*******.”
Unsurprisingly, footage of the 1v10 matchup went viral on social media, as many were surprised by Pimblett’s sheer dominance on the ground when grappling with the Marines.
The 30-year-old proceeded to defeat Gordon a few months later by unanimous decision before winning via the same method against MMA icon Tony Ferguson.
His victory against Green at UFC 304 was another reminder to everyone as to just how deadly Pimblett is on the floor – something he will look to utilise against Chandler.
Chandler has said ‘The Baddy’ has never been hit by someone like himself, following comments from his opponent that asserted ‘scousers don’t get knocked out’.
‘Iron’ has fought the best lightweights on the planet, including Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
In fact, he was meant to step into the Octagon with Conor McGregor last June, but the latter withdrew from the bout after hurting his foot.
His knockout of Ferguson in May 2022 is also viewed as one of the greatest in UFC history.
It was so brutal that popular UFC commentator Joe Rogan could barely utter a word and simply screamed.
Pimblett vs Chandler will have huge ramifications for the future of the lightweight division, which is currently ruled by Islam Makhachev.
Their fight takes place on a stacked main card, which is headlined by Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes who face one another for the vacant featherweight title, following Ilia Topuria’s move up 10 pounds.
