UFC 324 kicked off the Paramount era for the UFC and Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett put on a fight to remember. In what many are already calling a fight of the year contender, Gaethje outpointed Pimblett in a slobberknocker that Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar would have been proud of.
You can check out our breakdown of UFC 324 here:
Although The Baddy didn’t get his hand raised, his stock was certainly raised. He showed heart, grit and determination and many believe that it cemented his place in the top five of the division.
Let’s take a look at who could be next for Liverpool’s Paddy Pimblett.
Paddy Pimblett vs…
Dan Hooker
The most obvious fight to make would be Dan Hooker, regardless of the outcome of the New Zealander’s fight against Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 325.
Pimblett and Hooker have heat. They exchanged ugly shots at each other on social media, despite seemingly being civil when they met in Qatar.
It would be a fun clash of styles, with Hooker preferring to stand and bang, do work in the clinch and look to punish his opponents in a war-like fashion. Pimblett, despite his UFC 324 showing, is a grappler. He was largely out-struck by Gaethje and many questioned his gameplan, so expect him to revert back to his roots in his next fight.
Winner of the BMF Fight
UFC 326 will be headlined by BMF champion, Max Holloway and former lightweight king and fan favourite, Charles Oliveira. Both men have fan-friendly styles, are megastars and always put on fun fights.
TNT’s Adam Catterall called for Paddy Pimblett to face the winner of the upcoming BMF title fight off the back of his UFC 324 main event.
Regardless of who wins, it would be a fun fight. Pimblett has a style that shouldn’t work. He fights with his chin in the air, his weight is all over the place and he doesn’t appear to sit down on his shots… but it works.
Oliveira is willing to take one to land one and is more than willing to mix it on the floor. Holloway has looked great at lightweight and a win over Oliveira puts him right in the title picture. There may not be much pull for a Holloway vs Ilia Topuria rematch, so he may need one more big name on his record if he wins at UFC 325… and Paddy Pimblett could be that name.
Arman Tsarukyan
This is an interesting one. Logically, it makes the most sense. The man who just lost an interim title fight faces the man who many thought should have been fighting for the interim belt.
Arman Tsarukyan is #1 in the lightweight division and recently got back in the octagon in a dominant fashion against Dan Hooker. There’s plenty of heat between Tsarukyan and Pimblett, with the Armenian taking aim at Pimblett following his UFC 324 loss.
If the UFC want to continue on the Paddy Pimblett train, they keep him as far away from Tsarukyan as possible.
Tsarukyan is as well-rounded as they get, hits hard, has elite cardio and is hungry for success. He’s a bad match-up for Pimblett, out-matching him in every aspect of MMA. If the UFC want Pimblett to go 0-2 in his last two fights, book him against Tsarukyan.
