The UFC 314 co-main event is set to see Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett in an interesting clash of styles. Chandler will look to snap a two-fight winless run, whereas Pimblett will look to stay undefeated in the UFC and extend his six-fight winning run.
Chandler hasn’t tasted victory since his 2022 knockout of the year contender over Tony Ferguson, whereas Pimblett got the biggest and most impressive win of his career last time out, submitting King Green in under four minutes.
We take a look at Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett.
Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett – The Breakdown
There is little denying that this one is set to be entertaining. Every Chandler fight is. Of his six UFC fights, he’s scored five bonuses. Pimblett has also notched a good number of post-fight bonuses during his short UFC career, notching four in six.
The Stand Up Game
Every fight starts on the feet and Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett is no different. This is where a large amount of the excitement could stem from. Chandler takes one to land one, is always in a war and has a legendary kill or be killed style. He’s got legitimate one-punch knockout power, a range of different attacks and has a gas tank that will last him the full five rounds. 11 of Chandler’s wins have come via knockout and he carried his goof knockout form into the UFC, knocking out Dan Hooker on his debut, a tough thing to do.
Pimblett has a much different style on the feet. The Baddy looks to use his strikes in order to get into a position to get the fight to the floor. He’s much less fluid with his strikes and as a result of this, he, unfortunately, does get landed on with relative ease. He absorbs 3.75 strikes per minute and against someone as powerful as Chandler, this could spell bad news…
Pimblett isn’t adverse to a competitive trade on the feet, having competitive match-ups with Tony Ferguson and Jared Gordon. Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett is competitive on the feet and could provide great entertainment.
Ground Game and Wrestling Realm
The ground game and wrestling realm will also provide a competitive clash. Firstly, Chandler is the much better pure wrestler, with a background in NCAA Wrestling to division one standard. Pimblett has no such background.
Chandler averages 1.59 takedowns per 15 minutes, with a success rate of just 37%. With that being said, he times his takedowns to great effect. Against Dustin Poirier, Chandler times his takedowns brilliantly when Poirier loaded up and looked to land a knockout blow, perfectly ducking under his strikes and securing the takedown.
He’d be best to not look for the takedown in this one, however. Pimblett is extremely dangerous on the ground. Of his 16 finish victories, 10 have come via submission, three of which have been in the UFC. He shot to mainstream fame with his viral flying triangle at CageWarriors 90 and his submission victory last time out against Green came with a slick triangle. He’s extremely effective off his back but can also control opponents on the ground and waste down the clock.
The move that had EVERYONE talking last night!
@PaddytheBaddy locks in the flying triangle to submit Alexis Savvidis at #CW90… what’s next for ‘The Baddy’? pic.twitter.com/JijG7gViyM
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) February 25, 2018
With that being said, Chandler is no slouch on the ground. He survived some difficult positions against the UFCs submission record holder, Charles Oliveira. If Pimblett gets Chandler back, expect him to fight out of it for a while before looking to entertain the crowd and lift Pimblett up and slam both himself and the Brit to the mat.
Expect a highly competitive fight between two top lightweights. One claims that he can’t be knocked out, the other has far more high-level experience. Michael Chandler vs Paddy Pimblett, tune in.
