5 fighters who could be next in line to face Paddy Pimblett

After making a successful UFC debut against Luigi Vendramini in September, it appears Paddy Pimblett won’t need to wait long for his second trip to the octagon. Paddy Pimblett has announced via Twitter that the contract for his second UFC bout is signed. As of right now, no opponent has been announced for him.

‘The Baddy’ fights in the UFC lightweight division, arguably the most loaded weight class in the promotion right now. That means there is no shortage of potential opponents waiting to face him.

So, who is next in line for Paddy Pimblett? We’re likely to find out soon, but there’s every chance that it’s one of the following five fighters.

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#5. Paddy Pimblett vs. Jared Gordon

Jared Gordon called out Paddy Pimblett after his recent UFC victory

It might not be the biggest fight possible for Paddy Pimblett right now, but a clash with Jared Gordon would probably make sense from a logical point of view.

Like ‘The Baddy’, Gordon is a fighter who formerly fought at featherweight before moving up to the 155-pound division recently. ‘Flash’ is coming off a split decision victory over Joe Solecki at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night event, with that win putting him on a three-fight win streak.

Sensing an opportunity to make a name for himself by knocking off one of the UFC’s most vaunted prospects, Gordon used his post-fight interview to call out Paddy Pimblett. ‘The Baddy’ quickly appeared to accept the fight via his Twitter account.

Gordon would almost certainly be a step up in competition for Pimblett in comparison to his previous opponent Luigi Vendramini. ‘Flash’ has fought in the UFC on nine occasions and holds an impressive record of 6-3 in the octagon.

However, the one drawback to this fight might be Gordon’s lack of name value. The UFC appears to view Paddy Pimblett as a major star for the future, meaning they may want to keep him away from high risk, low reward fights like this one.

If Pimblett really wants this clash, though, the promotion may well be tempted to book it.

#4. Paddy Pimblett vs. Drew Dober

Drew Dober would provide Paddy Pimblett with a massive test in what would be an exciting fight

If the UFC wants to book an exciting fight for Paddy Pimblett, they could do much worse than matching him with veteran striker Drew Dober. While he’s currently on a two-fight skid and doesn’t sit inside the UFC’s top 15 right now, Dober is undoubtedly one of the lightweight division’s most exciting fighters. Every time he steps into the octagon, fireworks ensue. A fight with Paddy Pimblett would be unlikely to be the exception to that rule.

Incredibly, Dober has been in the UFC for the best part of a decade now after debuting in the octagon in 2013. Since that time, he’s put together a quietly strong record, going 9-7-1 and beating the likes of Alexander Hernandez, Nasrat Haqparast and Josh Burkman.

Dober would undoubtedly be an incredibly dangerous foe for Paddy Pimblett. He’s got phenomenal cardio, never stops coming forward in a fight and, most importantly, he’d be the best striker ‘The Baddy’ has ever fought. If Pimblett found it tricky against Luigi Vendramini in the early going, he’d definitely be tested more by Dober.

Simply put, the Liverpool native would not be able to risk being tagged by Dober as he was by Vendramini. However, Dober is not an unbeatable fighter by any means. He’s been stopped on four occasions in the UFC via submission and Paddy Pimblett is a tremendous grappler in his own right.

This fight would definitely be fun to watch. While it’d be risky and dangerous for Paddy Pimblett, it’d also be a high-reward clash should he win.

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#3. Paddy Pimblett vs. Jamie Mullarkey

Jamie Mullarkey may have earned a fight with Paddy Pimblett after his performance last weekend

Jared Gordon might’ve called out Paddy Pimblett after his win at last weekend’s UFC Fight Night, but ‘Flash’ wasn’t the only lightweight to impress at the event.

Australia’s Jamie Mullarkey also won his fight last weekend. He knocked out Devonte Smith to extend his current win streak to two fights and take his overall UFC record to 2-2 in the process.

Mullarkey didn’t call out ‘The Baddy’ like Gordon did after his fight, but a clash with Paddy Pimblett may still make some sense for his next trip to the octagon. Based on his debut fight with Luigi Vendramini, Paddy Pimblett likes nothing better than to throw down with his opponent, despite his substantial reputation as a grappler. Judging by his performance against Smith, Mullarkey would be more than willing to oblige him.

Would this fight be a dangerous one for Paddy Pimblett? Almost certainly. Mullarkey was clearly losing his fight with Smith in the first round and found himself in trouble on more than one occasion. However, the Australian was able to weather the storm and showed his toughness to come back and take Smith out violently in the second round.

Therefore, if ‘The Baddy’ were to fight the Aussie as openly as he did Vendramini, there’s every chance he’d find himself meeting the same fate as Smith. However, Pimblett is an excellent striker in his own right. As Mullarkey’s defense didn’t seem that hot this weekend, it’d also be a winnable clash for the native of Liverpool.

Overall, this would be a fun fight and based on Mullarkey being in the spotlight this weekend, it could be worth booking.

#2. Paddy Pimblett vs. Diego Ferreira

A win over Diego Ferreira would propel Paddy Pimblett into the top fifteen in the UFC lightweight division

While he’s still a relatively young prospect, Paddy Pimblett is charismatic enough that the UFC may well want to give him a quick push up the ladder in the lightweight division. That would mean an attempt to break him into the top 15. While most of the fighters there are currently booked in fights, one man who isn’t is Brazilian grappling ace Diego Ferreira.

Ferreira broke into the UFC’s lightweight rankings in 2020 thanks to an impressive six-fight winning streak, peaking with a submission of former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at UFC 246.

However, since then the Brazilian has dropped his most recent two fights, falling to Beneil Dariush and most recently Gregor Gillespie, who finished him with strikes in the second round. Despite those two losses, Ferreira would undoubtedly be the most dangerous opponent that Paddy Pimblett has ever faced.

Not only does he carry knockout power in his hands, he actually holds a KO win over potential Pimblett opponent Jared Gordon, but his grappling is truly venomous. He’s an adept finisher with submissions and holds a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

However, Ferreira is undoubtedly better on offense than he is on defense. He fights openly enough that Paddy Pimblett would definitely stand a chance of catching him with something nasty. More to the point, this would be a low-risk, high-reward fight for ‘The Baddy’. If he were to lose to Ferreira, he wouldn’t lose much of his shine. After all, there’s no shame in falling to defeat at the hands of a proven world-class fighter.

This would be a wickedly tough match for Paddy Pimblett, but one that would be interesting and worthwhile, too.

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#1. Paddy Pimblett vs. Clay Guida

Could Paddy Pimblett make a name for himself by beating Clay Guida?

The UFC loves nothing better than building up young prospects like Paddy Pimblett by having them defeat aging, past-their-prime veterans. And in the lightweight division right now, the ultimate aging veteran is Clay Guida.

That isn’t a slight at ‘The Carpenter’. For any fighter to remain part of the UFC roster for as long as he has is genuinely incredible. For those who aren’t aware, Guida debuted in the UFC back at UFC 64 in October 2006, almost 15 years ago.

Over the years, Guida has defeated fighters such as Anthony Pettis, Takanori Gomi and B.J. Penn. Unsurprisingly, at the age of 39, it appears that ‘The Carpenter’ is finally beginning to slow down.

However, Guida is still dangerous, as he showed when he defeated Michael Johnson earlier this year. Even in his most recent fight, a decision loss to Mark Madsen, ‘The Carpenter’ was never truly out of contention.

Guida has never been a fantastic finisher, though, meaning that in a lot of ways, he wouldn’t provide that much of a threat to a fighter like Paddy Pimblett who still needs some work on his defense. He’d definitely test ‘The Baddy’, particularly in the realm of takedown defense. However, right now, Guida is definitely a beatable opponent for a high-level up-and-comer like the Englishmanl.

So when you consider that ‘The Carpenter’ still has plenty of name value and a certain level of popularity despite his waning skills, he could well prove to be the perfect opponent for Paddy Pimblett to make his name in beating.