Chael Sonnen has changed his opinion on Paddy Pimblett's chances.
Having gone from being just a fan favorite name to now being a potential UFC champion, Sonnen's perception of the British star has changed dramatically with his latest win inside the Octagon. Pimbret (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) earned a hard-fought first-round technical submission victory over veteran Bobby Green on Saturday's main card of UFC 304 in Manchester, England.
“I thought of Paddy as a regional fighter,” Sonnen said on the “Good Guy/Bad Guy” podcast. “What do you mean? He sells a lot of tickets in certain venues, so you put him in that geographic location. You can't main event him or put him in a five-round fight or rocket him up the rankings, but you can get him the right opponent and he'll be good for three or four years. I just don't look at Paddy the same way anymore.”
Pimbret is on an eight-fight win streak at UFC and is yet to lose. The former Cage Warriors champion last lost in 2018. Given his current form, Sonnen doesn't think Pimbret will get close to a title shot. In fact, he thinks two more wins are enough for the 30-year-old.
“Paddy has two fights left. Two fights have to be the right fights, but two fights left to compete for a world championship,” Sonnen said. “I don't mean Dana (White) is going to sign the fight. I mean guys like me saying to the (MMA) community, 'This is the right matchup.' If you look at the rankings, it ultimately comes down to a guy called Michael Chandler. If Michael Chandler doesn't get the fight with Conor (McGregor), this seems like the perfect replacement to me.”
For more on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 304 event hub.
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