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Paddy Pimblett is gearing up to face former UFC lightweight title challenger Michael Chandler at UFC 314. A win would be tremendous for his career, but according to UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping, 'The Baddy' is within reach of a lightweight title shot.
As things currently stand, Pimblett is ranked just outside of the lightweight top 10 at #12. However, beating Chandler, who is ranked #7, would catapult him well into the top 10. Bisping, though, believes that the promotion has much bigger plans for Pimblett, saying as much in a recent YouTube video.
"If he gets the job done against Michael Chandler, and he just might do that, if he can do that, I'm telling you, Paddy Pimblett is probably one fight away from fighting for a belt."
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Check out Michael Bisping's thoughts on Paddy Pimblett's trajectory (6:39):
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A title shot for Pimblett following a win over Chandler and one more opponent wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. In fact, the UFC has given similar preferential treatment before to fighters the promotion sees significant star potential in.
Sean O'Malley is an example, which 'The Count' pointed out in his video. 'Sugar' spent most of his UFC tenure fighting subpar competition and stylistically favorable matchups to build a compelling highlight reel. Then, after a no-contest against Pedro Munhoz and a controversial win over Petr Yan, he was granted a title shot.
O'Malley made good of the opportunity by capturing the bantamweight belt at UFC 292, TKO'ing Aljamain Sterling in impressive fashion. However, whether this is a possibility for Pimblett in the lightweight division depends on his ability to compete with the upper echelon of 155-pounders.
Paddy Pimblett is unbeaten in the UFC
The last time Paddy Pimblett tasted defeat was in late 2018 in a Cage Warriors bout. Since then, he has been an unstoppable force, racking up 8 consecutive wins, six of which were in the UFC. Among the opponents he's beaten are action fighter King Green and ex-UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson.
Unfortunately, the win over Ferguson has aged poorly, as 'El Cucuy' was no longer the dominant lightweight he once was, and was instead en route to a historic losing streak that ended with him getting released from the promotion.
