As Paddy Pimblett’s fight with Michael Chandler looms, there is one fact, statistic, element – word it however you will – that stands out. It confirms the reality of something once deemed near-impossible.
As the lightweights prepare to share the cage at UFC 314, for a maximum of five rounds in Saturday’s co-main event, Pimblett is the betting favourite. The loudmouthed Liverpudlian, his face often nothing but a flash of toothy grin under a lolloping mop of blonde-but-Beatlesesque hair, is the favourite to beat a former three-time world champion.
“Paddy The Baddy” has been doubted courtesy of his unassuming appearance, derided due to his brash demeanour, and dismissed thanks to certain bad habits in the cage. Yet he has beaten everyone placed opposite him in the UFC Octagon, and they have all given way to his sternest test so far in Chandler. And still he is favourite.
His detractors continue to cling to a cluster of words which, in fairness, could come back to bite the 30-year-old. “I’m a Scouser, we don’t get knocked out,” Pimblett said after getting chin-checked in his UFC debut, in 2021. It was a phrase he had used before, during his run in Cage Warriors, where he held featherweight gold before joining the UFC at lightweight.
And yes, Pimblett’s habit of careening at opponents with his chin jutting out, while swinging ungainly limbs, was a justifiable reason to question his odds of survival in the upper echelons at 155lb. In fact, when Pimblett was gifted a fortunate decision win over Jared Gordon in late 2022 (days after embroiling himself in a feud with journalist Ariel Helwani), it was not unfair to question his ability to even reach the top tier; there were sensible suggestions that Pimblett was not improving at the appropriate rate.
However, he meets Chandler at an intriguing intersection in their careers.