Following our last conversation with rising super star Paddy Pimblett, Action Network has caught up with "The Baddy" ahead of his biggest fight to date.
Facing Michael Chandler in the co-main event at UFC 314, Pimblett spoke with us about his upcoming bout, the action at UFC 313 and the rumors around a Ilia Topuria vs Arman Makhachev super fight.
Key Takeaways:
- Pitbull provided tips how to beat Michael Chandler
- Pimblett willing to fight Charles Oliveira or Justin Gaethje after UFC 314
- Pimblett doesn't think Magomed Ankalaev beating Alex Pereira is a nightmare for the UFC
- Pimblett would rather fight Islam Makhachev for the Lightweight Title over Ilia Topuria
Q: Michael Chandler has said "you will be tested more than he has ever been tested in his entire life." Do you think this is your hardest fight to date?
"Yeah. It is my hardest fight to date, definitely the hardest fight on paper.
A lot of people thought my last fight was, and I showed that it wasn’t.
I think after this one's over, people are still gonna think that Jared Gordon was the toughest fight.
I thought it was funny, because I was at the press conference the other day and at the fights, I was speaking to (Patrício) Pitbull, someone who knocked Chandler out in the first round, and he was giving me a few tips on how to beat him also.
So we had a little bit of inside knowledge from someone who fought him."
Q: What were those tips?
"He was just telling me little things. What Chandler does.
You can catch him and get punches off. You know what I mean?
Pitbull knocked him out with an overarm right. I'm a lot longer than Pitbull.
Pitbull's featherweight.
Chandler’s shorter than me. That's something at the press conference the other day, I realized even more.
I knew I was gonna be bigger than Mike. I knew he was taller than Pitbill, but I thought Mike would be wider than he is.
I'm nearly as wide as him. I'm a couple of inches taller than him. I think he's gonna be surprised at the range difference.
He's gonna have to leap in a big, big way for the shots, and I'm gonna catch him when he's leaping in.
Q: Who do you want to fight after Chandler? How do you see the path to a title shot progressing now?
"Moicano’s in the rearview mirror now. Once I beat Chandler because I'll have beat someone higher rank than him. Moicano is ranked 10.
Once I beat Chandler, I'll be ranked seven.
So he's a thing of the past.
I just wanna get on that road to the title. I'm thinking someone in the top four, top five, obviously.
If Dustin Poirier doesn't retire after his next fight. So Dustin Poirier, maybe Charles Oliveira.
Somebody like that.
Because by then, Arman Tsarukyan would have fought for the belt. So I'd have a number one contender fight with someone like Charles, or Justin Gaethje. If he hasn't fought for the belt."
Q: Gaethje comes away with UD over Rafael Fiziev. What did you make of this fight? Do you think Gaethje’s earned a title shot from this?
"It was a very good fight, and he definitely won.
There was no dispute about that. He won the second and third round. Though he started a bit slow. If Arman (Tsarukyan) isn’t getting the next title shot, it has to be Justin.
He's the only other option, really, in the top five because he's fought Charles. He beat Poirier.
Might be Holloway now. I’ve heard Holloway is fighting Poirier. And then Chandler is seven.
The only people that he hasn't fought are Arman and Justin. Justin's got the wrestling to give him a good fight, and he's better on the feet.
Arman still deserves the next shot, but he bitched out at the last one, I don't think Dana's looking to give it to him.
Dana wants him to get another win before it. But Justin Gaethje deserves the title shot before Ilia Topuria does, definitely."
Q: Ariel Helwani called Pereira's loss to Ankalaev a "nightmare" scenario for the UFC. What did you make of the fight? And the scoring?
"F** him (Ariel). F** him lad. The lizard.
I don't think it's a nightmare situation, but I do understand what he means.
Pereira was the man in the sport. Pereira’s pound-for-pound number two behind Islam.
He was becoming the biggest star in the sport, and he just didn't look right.
He looked off. I don't know if he was worried about the takedowns and that, but he just didn't look right the other night.
I don't know if he was carrying an injury. Don't know if he had a big weight cut. You just don't know. But Ankalaev made the most of it.
I scored rounds one and five for Pereira, and rounds two and four for Ankalaev, and it was all about that third round.
And it was a close round. I gave it to Ankalaev, we thought that this could be 3-2 the other way.
One other judge on another day could have given that third round to Alex, and Alex could have won the fight.
When the scorecard took so long to get brought in, we thought, ‘oh, that they could this could be a split decision’.
But me and all the fighters around me, Edmen Shahbazyan, Leal and the Fighting Nerds boys. We all thought that Ankelia won.
As soon as he said 48, 47, 48, 47, as soon as he said 49, 46 on one scorecard, you knew it was Anchalaiev.
There was no disputing it. As soon as he said that, I knew it was Ankalaev getting his hand raised.
I don't think it was a robbery of any sort.
It was a close fight. But I can understand that being four one to Ankalaev. But the fifth round, personally, I scored differently. I think the fifth round got given to Ankalaev because he pushed them against the cage and stuff like that one.
It's not really meant to score anymore. It's meant to be damage
I scored a 3-2 goal to Ankalaev. It's probably not the best situation for the UFC because it's another Dagestani champ.
But I don't think he’s like the other Dagestani champs. Ankalaev isn't boring. Like, I don't think Merab’s that boring, but he is at the same time.
They don't want them as champs. But Ankalaev comes out and knocks mother f** out lad.
Ankalaev doesn't just wrestle for three rounds or five rounds. He stood there, toe to toe with Pereira a lot. He nearly knocked him out in the second round.
The bell saved Pereira.
It's like Islam as well. Islam's not a boring champ. Islam comes out and tries to finish even though he grapples a lot.
It annoys me when I'm at fights and people take someone down. If you don't do anything with it, then yeah.
But if you're being active and you're on the ground on the pound and you're starting to pass. That Amanda Lemos fight the other night was one of the most boring fights I've ever watched in my life.
That was bad for the sport. That was bad for the UFC.
That was f** abysmal lad."
Q: Mairon Santos' Win Against Francis Marshall was heavily criticised both by fans and fighters for the split decision by the judges. What did you think about the scoring?
"Judging is a personal point of view. It’s not like you can do a metrics card on it like basketball and football where people get a score each. It's different.
It's personal opinion. It's whatever that judge thinks sitting there on that night.
And what a lot of people have got to remember is, when we watch a fight, if you're not there, you've got the commentary convincing you of something that’s happened.
When I fought Jared Gordon, everybody thought I lost.
But if you go and watch it with no commentary, which I did – I got other people to watch it with no commentary. It's a much closer fight than you think. The commentary swayed it a lot.
Someone can land a little left hook. Like, that's what used to happen with me.
Gordon would land the left hook and it didn't do nothing, but because my hair went like that (gesticulates).
Judging is people's point of view, it's never really gonna get sorted. You half need former fighters to be judges, but then nearly all former fighters have got mates who are fighters and they’re gonna have a bias anyway.
It's a tough one. It's just gonna happen in our sport.
I don't think you're gonna ever get around it because it's just it's personal opinion.
People complain about the ref. People say, ‘that stoppage is too late, that stoppage is too soon.'
It's because the refs have to use their personal opinion.
They decide whether they think people are out or they're awake . When Robbie Lawler got choked by Ben Askren and he was awake, everybody hated Herb Dean for that.
But at that moment in time, he thought Robbie Lawler was unconscious, and he didn't want him to get any further damage. So it's just it's one of them. There's nothing you can really do about it."
Q: A lot of rumors continue to swirl around an Ilia Topuria v Makhachev fight. Do you see this happening? Who would you personally prefer to fight for the Lightweight title?
"I'd rather fight Islam.
I want to prove I'm the best lightweight. Ilia’s not.
I don't think he'll get that fight straight away, but I did hear he got offered to fight Arman and then he turned it down.
Even more so, you can't say no to fights in the UFC. Every fight I've ever been offered, I've said, yeah. I've never said no. I won't fight him.
Never ever said that in my life. And the UFC don't like it when you do that. The UFC likes real fighters.
I just can't see him getting a straight title shot.
But they might do it though, just because it's the moneymaker.
It’s the former featherweight champ, fighting a lightweight champ, but he's too small. Islam Makhachev will be so much bigger than him.
It'll be half frightening how much bigger than him he is. And then I'm bigger than Islam.
I don't understand how people think that he'd out-strike me when I've got about that [widens his hands] much reach on him.
He's a midget, I always say. He's called me fat in interviews. He's the biggest hypocrite ever because he's saying he can't make 145, and he's about this big [pinches fingers].
He swung a punch at me. And I wasn't even looking and he still missed me by that much.
Obviously, people keep saying to me, ‘if Ilia wins the belt, you're probably the first title defense’. He's not gonna win the belt, though. And I'd rather him not.
I don't want that little prick getting more props. As I say, I'd rather fight Islam, someone who's broken the lightweight record for title defenses.
Someone who's on a sixteen, seventeen fight win streak. I'd rather fight Islam Machaev than cement myself as a real lightweight champion."
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