Michael Chandler has explained why he took a fight with Paddy Pimblett, and how it came together, ahead of their co-main event at UFC 314.
The lightweights will meet in a five-round bout in Miami on 12 April, supporting Alexander Volkanovski’s fight with Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight title.
Those contests were announced amid a slew of UFC news on Wednesday (19 February), which began with Ilia Topuria’s announcement that he was vacating the featherweight belt.
“I was on a vacation last week,” Chandler said in a video on social media. “I got a call that said: ‘Hey, what do you think about fighting Paddy Pimblett in April?’
“I said, ‘Well, Hunter [Campbell, UFC CBO], April’s only eight weeks away. I like to put down about four weeks of training before I go into an eight-week camp. Let me think about it.’
“Next day, flew to Vegas, sat down with him in his office and talked through everything, and we made the decision: we’re fighting Paddy Pimblett in Miami, 12 April, because an imperfect plan implemented now is better than a perfect plan implemented months from now.
“In this sport, things move fast. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the division, it’s a big summer for the lightweight division. And after the last fight – one of the most disappointing losses of my career – I wanted to get right back on the horse, get back in the Octagon.”
In November, Chandler suffered a lopsided decision loss to Charles Oliveira, three years after suffering a TKO by the Brazilian in a title fight. November’s rematch came after Chandler waited almost two years for a fight with Conor McGregor, which never materialised.
The American continued: “So, here we go. I like the match-up – love the match-up actually. I respect Paddy, I think he’s a skilled fighter, I think he’s still got a bright future, but I think he’s gonna run into a buzzsaw called Michael Chandler on 12 April.
“As always, I will be the most entertaining guy that steps inside the Octagon that night. I will have everybody on their feet, I will have everybody on the edge of their seat, and – in typical Chandler fashion – we’re going out there with one goal in mind: that’s to separate our opponent from consciousness.
“I can’t wait. We head into training camp today, and for the next eight weeks, we’re gonna be getting after it.”
Chandler, 38, was a three-time Bellator champion before joining the UFC in 2020, and he has gone 2-4 since. He holds knockout wins over Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson, a decision loss to Justin Gaethje, a submission defeat by Dustin Poirier, and his pair of losses to Oliveira.
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s Pimblett has gone 6-0 since joining the UFC in 2021, with three submissions and one knockout along the way. Most recently, the 30-year-old submitted King Green in July.
