Pimblett Sets His Sights On UFC Abu Dhabi

Paddy Pimblett plans on having his next fight in October this year, which could see him line up at UFC Abu Dhabi. 

Pimblett is coming off the best win of his career after stopping Michael Chandler in the third round at UFC 314. The win took his record to 7-0, following up on his impressive win against Bobby Green at UFC 304 in the fight before. Pimblett is silencing his doubters who questioned whether he can cut it at the top of the lightweight division. He is now consistently beating lightweight contenders, raising question marks over where he goes next. He has been linked with a fight against Charles Oliveira, who previously fought Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title. Oliveira is also coming off a victory against Michael Chandler at UFC 309. 

Pimblett’s Options

However, unlike Pimblett, Oliveira was taken the distance, as Paddy showed his win was much more impressive. There is also an opportunity to face off against Ilia Tuporia. Pimblett and Topuria have had a massive feud since Paddy’s controversial comments about the Russian war against Georgia. Since Tuporia has links to Georgia, he did not take that comment very well.

Ilia recently moved up to lightweight after vacating his featherweight belt. While his plan is to fight Makhachev for the title next, there is no guarantee that the fight will happen immediately. Pimblett could provide him with an opportunity to secure a massive win at lightweight before turning his attention towards Islam. 

Alternatively, Paddy could also fight against Justin Gaethje. Justin is the former BMF Champion who lost his title to Max Holloway after the latter knocked him out with a second to go at UFC 300. Justin bounced back from that loss with a good win over Rafael Fiziev in their rematch at UFC 313, as Justin aims to return to big-time MMA fighting. Justin is also targeting a fight with Islam during International Fight Week as questions remain over whether Makhachev will continue at the weight class or move up. Pimblett clearly has plenty of opportunities available to him, as he plans on fighting this year again. 

Pimblett Reacts

“The biggest win over my career by a mile. I really respect Michael. The fact that he came over to the UFC at a later age and he still come over and was putting on absolute wars with the top of the division. The fact that I got to the beat down that I put on him and the way I dominated him and finished him – I feel like I put a worse beating on him than Charles [Oliveira] did, than [Dustin] Poirier did, than Justin Gaethje did. I just want to fight. Whoever that one person is that will get me a title shot, I want that fight. 

“I’ll definitely be fighting again this year. My plan was, even before the fight (with Chandler), I was saying before the fight, is to fight in Abu Dhabi in October. I’ve always wanted to fight they. They always does a pay-per-view there in October. I just think it would be a perfect time to come back then. Recharge my batteries over the summer, training every day, keep the weight down, and go right back into camp in August,” Pimblett said