Not everybody was majorly impressed by Paddy Pimblett’s emphatic win over Michael Chandler.
Pimblett demolished Chandler to continue his charge up the lightweight ladder at UFC 314 in April.
A brutal TKO stoppage in round three marked the Liverpool native’s seventh straight win since joining MMA’s top promotion and boosted him to No. 8 in the UFC rankings.
With that, many of those who previously doubted Pimblett‘s chances of entering title contention and perhaps even winning gold have gotten on board.
Of course, many remain hesitant to fully give ‘The Baddy’ his flowers just yet.
Grant Dawson not convinced Paddy Pimblett is elite after beating Michael Chandler
During a recent interview with Inside Fighting, lightweight contender Grant Dawson looked back on Pimblett’s triumph in Miami.
Having previously been vocal with his view on the Scouser, Dawson admitted that Pimblett went some way to changing his opinion at UFC 314.
But the American Top Team standout insisted that ‘The Baddy’ is still far from being the fighter fans perceive him to be.
“I think he’s gotten better. I think he’s gotten a lot better,” Dawson said of Pimblett.
“I think he is better than most of the division thinks he is, but I think he’s way worse than the fans think he is.”
Michael Chandler’s UFC record after losing to Paddy Pimblett
Headlines were also made in recent months with the tirade Dawson directed at Chandler and his ongoing spot inside the lightweight rankings.
‘Iron Mike’ has remained an ever-present in the top 10 since a memorable knockout of Dan Hooker in his UFC debut.
But a number of losses since, including the three that make up his current losing skid, have left Chandler with a dismal 2-5 UFC record.
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date |
| Loss | Paddy Pimblett | TKO | UFC 314 | April 12, 2025 |
| Loss | Charles Oliveira | Decision | UFC 309 | November 16, 2024 |
| Loss | Dustin Poirier | Submission | UFC 281 | November 12, 2022 |
| Win | Tony Ferguson | KO | UFC 274 | May 7, 2022 |
| Loss | Justin Gaethje | Decision | UFC 268 | November 6, 2021 |
| Loss | Charles Oliveira | TKO | UFC 262 | May 15, 2021 |
| Win | Dan Hooker | TKO | UFC 257 | January 24, 2021 |
Narrowly missing out on winning UFC gold against Charles Oliveira and the lengthy wait for Conor McGregor that stalled Chandler’s career mean things haven’t exactly gone as the American had envisioned.
However, the 39-year-old has made no suggestion that a retirement could be on the immediate horizon. So it seems likely that Chandler will have further chances to improve his UFC record down the line.