‘The Baddy’ is looking to extend his winning streak in the UFC to seven when he returns at UFC 314 next month.
Paddy Pimblett already has a three-man hitlist because he knows that a win over Michael Chandler will put him in the mix at 155-pounds.
Though Dustin Poirier has claimed he’s targeting “legends only” for his retirement fight, Pimblett has shown interest in the matchup.
‘The Diamond’ wants to ride off into the sunset by giving the fans one last spectacle later this year.
Not only has the former interim lightweight champion said that he’s not interested in fighting the Brit, Poirier believes that Chandler will beat Pimblett at the Kaseya Center in Miami.
Paddy Pimblett says he doesn’t understand why Dustin Poirier is retiring
In a recent interview with Papá Legaspi, Paddy Pimblett once again named Dustin Poirier as a potential opponent for his next fight after Michael Chandler.
The conversation came back to ‘The Diamond’ targeting one last dance before hanging up the gloves but ‘The Baddy’ isn’t sure why.
If Poirier did choose to stick around for a bit longer, it might remove his “legends only” clause with the future Hall of Famer wanting one more legacy fight to be remembered by.
In arguing for why Poirier should keep fighting for a bit longer, Pimblett referenced his fight with the lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302 where even in defeat, he gave a very good account of himself.
The 40-fight veteran contemplated retirement after the loss before deciding that he wanted to produce a proper send-off, hopefully in front of his home fans in Louisiana.
“He said something about me the other day didn’t he? Saying it’s legends only and he thinks Chandler will beat me so. I think he should have more than one fight, he looked good in his last fight. I don’t understand why you’d retire when you look good but you know, he must be an idiot. But yeah, I think I beat Dustin Poirier so I’d love to fight him.”
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Paddy Pimblett has other options at lightweight if he beats Michael Chandler
If Paddy Pimblett gets his hand raised against Michael Chandler at UFC 314, he’s going to be targeting the very top of the division in order to secure a title shot.
In that sense, any of the biggest and best names would make sense for him whether it’s Poirier or Charles Oliveira who he has already spoken about.
Ilia Topuria is another name that ‘The Baddy’ has shown interest in fighting soon now that ‘El Matador’ has moved up to lightweight where he has history with Pimblett.
Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan could be other options depending on what else plays out at 155-pounds in the coming weeks and months.