Michael Chandler explains why he took Paddy Pimblett fight and how it came together

Chandler will face the brash Liverpudlian at UFC 314 in April, in a five-round co-main event

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.

Michael Chandler (left) during his decision loss to Charles Oliveira in November (Getty Images)

“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.

Paddy Pimblett (right) submitted King Green in Manchester in July (Getty Images)

“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.