Miami — Paddy Pimblett finds himself in the UFC 314 co-main event this Saturday against Michael Chandler, knowing exactly what the fight, and possibility of a win, mean to his career moving forward.
Pimblett came into the UFC hot, hit the ground running, and through a mixture of smart mic work, a larger than life personality, and results inside the octagon, has steadily moved up the lightweight division. Wins over Tony Ferguson and King Green have him in the lightweight rankings, but Chandler’s name might just cement him as a contender.
“Every fight that I have now is going to be the biggest fight of my career,” Pimblett (22-3) told media outlets including Cageside Press at Wednesday’s UFC 314 media day. “Co-main event slow on the best PPV of the year, best fight card of the year. It’s where I need to shine.”
They’re eight years apart in age and took very different paths to reach the UFC, but both Paddy Pimblett and Michael Chandler arrived in the promotion in 2021. Chandler, a former Bellator MMA champ, very quickly found himself fighting for a title. Pimblett hasn’t lost a fight since his Cage Warriors day. His last loss came in 2018.
Asked whether his run in the UFC has been what he’d expected when he first signed with the company, Pimblett said that it’s “exactly how I envisioned it. It’s been a little bit slower, because I got that injury and was out for a whole year, and then obviously my wife had twins so I had a couple of months off after the last fight. So it’s been a little bit slower, the trajectory, but everything’s going smoothly, everything’s going to plan.”
“My trajectory, the road map I’m taking is going perfect. Beat Michael Chandler this weekend, and fight someone like Charles [Oliveira], Dustin [Poirier] or Justin [Gaethje] in Abu Dhabi in October, and then I’m coming for that belt in 2026.”
For years, Pimblett has had good friend and teammate Molly McCann fighting alongside him. At times, they were the Paddy and Molly Show, and they very much stole the show upon the UFC’s return to London, England in 2022, their first event back on British soil since the pandemic. Weeks back, McCann retired off a loss to Alexia Thainara, a short-notice replacement and promotional newcomer who submitted “Meatball” Molly.
“I didn’t want her to retire. I had a little inkling that she might do it, but I didn’t think she’d just do it like that,” Pimblett admitted on Wednesday. “The change of opponent really f*cked her, know what I mean? She was preparing to fight a striker, and ends up getting a very high-level grappler on a week’s notice. So it really messed everything up, but as I say I had a little inkling that she’d do it. I think she had it in the back of her mind that if she lost, she was going to retire. And you know, she’s got other things going on in her life. She’s always said she wants to have a child, she’s got her own businesses. She’s got other things outside of fighting.”
And yes, Pimblett would have loved to have shared a card with his pal one last time. “Obviously I’d love to have that one last rodeo, but it’s one of them. We also have a life outside of fighting.”
Watch Paddy Pimblett’s full UFC 314 media day appearance above.
