Paddy Secures His Biggest Win; Stops Chandler

What’s Next?

Pimblett entered the fight with the best win of his career after he submitted Bobby Green at UFC 304. The performance won him the plaudits of UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev, who did not rule out a fight in the future. Makhachev is currently searching for an opponent after he submitted Renato Moicano in his last fight at UFC 311.

Islam has consistently been linked with a fight against Ilia Topuria after the latter moved up from featherweight. There is no guarantee that fight will happen next, giving Pimblett an opportunity to secure it. Islam has an incentive to face Pimblett since he has established himself in the lightweight division. However, the fight against Topuria is arguably bigger from a commercial point of view. If Islam decides to stick around at lightweight, that could be an option for Paddy moving forward. 

The other alternative is to face off against Conor McGregor. McGregor was meant to face Michael Chandler last year at UFC 303. However, The Notorious pulled out after suffering a broken toe. He has not had a UFC fight since 2021, when Dustin Poirier defeated him at UFC 264. That was McGregor’s third defeat from his last four fights. Before Pimblett’s fight with Chandler, McGregor said he was interested in the outcome of that result. 

McGregor still has two fights left on his UFC contract, meaning there is a narrative in place to return. Equally, Pimblett could target a fight against Charles Oliveira. Oliveira defeated Chandler in his previous fight for the second time. Olivera is also chasing a title shot against Makhachev to avenge the defeat he suffered in their first fight. If Oliveira cannot secure the Makhachev fight, Pimblett would be a credible name.