At UFC 318, it looked like Paddy Pimblett was being lined up as the next lightweight title challenger.
Despite sharing a face off with the champion inside the Octagon, Ilia Topuria recently suggested that Pimblett needs another win before facing him.
Their eventual meeting inside the Octagon following a feud that has been developing for several years would undoubtedly be one of the biggest fights that the UFC could make right now.
However, other contenders have slammed Pimblett’s position in the division, with ‘The Baddy’ being in the title picture despite holding the #9 ranking.
One candidate who could be the next step for the controversial Brit recently spoke about why he hasn’t been calling for this matchup.
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Dan Hooker doesn’t rate Paddy Pimblett and believes that this mentality wouldn’t bring out the best in him
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Dan Hooker spoke about what is next for him now that an Octagon return is drawing closer.
Hooker ruled himself out of fighting for the BMF or lightweight titles, believing that he needs to get a win under his belt first, having not competed since UFC 305 in August of last year.
‘The Hangman’ admitted that Paddy Pimblett wasn’t a potential opponent that he’d given much thought to in recent times.
Hooker recently called out Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan on social media, but Pimblett could be another realistic option.
One of the reasons why the #6 ranked contender hasn’t been trying to position himself for this matchup is because he doesn’t believe that it will bring the best out of him.
Hooker admitted that he doesn’t rate Pimblett as a top lightweight and believes that this would lead to him not performing to the fullest of his capabilities.
“He keeps looking better than he looked before but like, he never really looked that good. No, I don’t think the guy’s that good and then it brings out the best of me when I fight like an actual good fighter.
“When they give me someone that I think I can beat or I think someone’s s—, then I fight s—. My mind subconsciously relaxes because I think they’re s— and then I do s— and then they beat me… So I’d rather just fight the best guy so I actually perform well.”
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Dan Hooker believes that the UFC has purposefully not declared who is next in line to challenge for the lightweight title
Both Justin Gaethje and Arman Tsarukyan believe that they deserve the next shot at Ilia Topuria’s title, while Paddy Pimblett could have overlapped both of them after what happened at UFC 318.
Speaking to Submission Radio, Dan Hooker believes that it’s a purposeful tactic on the promotion’s behalf to not guarantee who will be next.
He thinks that the UFC would prefer to keep things this way in any division because that allows them to have more power when it comes to negotiating terms for the fight.
“They never paint themselves into a situation where there’s a clear number one contender that has to fight for the belt next because if they’re ever in that situation, then negotiations obviously become very difficult for them.
“If the fans are 100% locked and expecting that there’s only one guy that makes sense for the title, you think when they sit down and negotiate that the UFC’s in a strong position?”