English MMA phenomenon Paddy Pimblett achieves his biggest victory yet at UFC 314. Now he has his sights set on the title once held by Conor McGregor.
The hype surrounding one of the UFC’s most popular MMA fighters continues unabated.
English cult star Paddy Pimblett celebrated his seventh victory in as many fights for the league in the co-main event of UFC 314 in Miami – it was the most impressive victory to date for the lightweight from Liverpool, who is now setting his sights on title gold.
UFC 314: Paddy Pimblett beats Michael Chandler
Pimblett defeated former Bellator champion Michael Chandler – also known for his famous UFC fight against Dustin Poirier in 2022 – by technical knockout in the third round, thus also securing the bonus for ‘Performance of the Night’.
At the start of round three, Pimblett caught Chandler off guard with a brutal knee to the head, setting up the decisive phase: ultimately, the referee stopped the fight after a series of elbows by Pimblett against Chandler, who was on the ground.
“This is how you win,” Pimblett said in the post-fight interview: “We plan, we use our fight IQ and we beat up motherfuckers.” Pimblett also addressed new challenges to the division’s top stars Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan – the long-term goal: a fight for the title currently held by Russian Islam Makchachev, which superstar Conor McGregor once also called his own.
“I want that belt,” emphasized the 30-year-old Pimblett: “People said: I’ll never be champ, I won’t even make the ranking, never make the top 10. And now? I won!”
Volkanovski takes back title
In the main event of the show, Alexander Volkanovski regained the featherweight title he lost to Ilia Topuira last year.
Because Topuira switched to lightweight, Volkanovski had the opportunity to reclaim the title in a match against Diego Lopes. Despite taking a knockdown, Volkanovski managed a unanimous decision victory.
