Is Paddy Pimblett really that good or is Michael Chandler not as good as he promises to be every time? As per Chael Sonnen, this is really ‘rude’ to Chandler. On the face of it, yes Chandler hasn’t won his last three, and Pimblett dog walked all three of his last opponents. But then, if you look at it, Pimblett fought his last three against opponents who were above 35 years of age. Meanwhile, Michael Chandler, despite losing his last three, gave his opponents each a fight they’ll never forget (for better or for worse). But are his skills currently enough to challenge the lightweight king Islam Makhachev?

And if there’s anyone who will make an argument against Pimblett, it’s Arman Tsarukyan. Of course, it’s personal for ‘Akhalkalakets’ because the Scouser called him a “posh rich boy,” a “helmet” and a “sausage.” In return, the Armenian retaliated to the Englishman’s insults about his UFC 311 withdrawal due to injury and said that Pimblett got only easy fights, and talked his way through the ranks with his personality rather than his fighting skills. He posted on X saying, “guy who got the easiest path to the top in UFC just because he’s got a funny accent and budget Beatles haircut.”

The fight against ‘Iron’ Mike indeed was one of the biggest tests of ‘The Baddy’s’ career as he was up against a seasoned veteran. Sonnen acknowledged Chandler’s status as a veteran, but then doubled down on Pimblett being really good, “What I am sharing for you is this level of exhaustion that Michael Chandler was at after one round is higher than any level of exhaustion I have ever seen Michael Chandler at and I have seen him after 5 rounds. That’s true. And it is a fair question of, how did we get here?”

‘The American Gangster’ continued, “The problem is that it might not have anything to do with Michael Chandler. Paddy ‘The Baddy’ may well, and I don’t know, I don’t know this shi- but I am looking for it. He may well possess an intangible. Now, an intangible is something that can’t be trained, it can’t be taught, most time it can’t be identified.”

According to the Hall of Famer, Chandler is not just an entertaining fighter, but he is a “real cardio” guy, and a 5-round fight, “favors Michael Chandler.” But this time, during UFC 314 co-main, Pimblett dominated and overpowered ‘Iron’, ultimately stopping him in Round 3 with a TKO. But Chandler did go five rounds with Oliveira at UFC 309, right? So what went wrong at UFC 314?

As Sonnen said, Pimblett has an ‘X factor’, drawing parallels between his and Georges St-Pierre. GSP had that X factor, as per Sonnen. He had that pace and strength. So yes, Paddy did fight veterans of the sport and looked damn good against them. But ‘The Baddy’ is also an extremely skilled fighter, with a personality to back it up. On the other hand, Michael Chandler, for all his fighting prowess, is in the twilight of his career. So what’s next?

What should Michael Chandler do for his future now?

“Never out of the fight. This picture says it all. As long as I’ve got these heartbeats and hands to hold, I’ve already won,” posted ‘Iron’ Mike on X after his TKO loss to Paddy Pimblett. The Scouser successfully took Chandler’s top 10 spot and jumped from #12  to #8 in the lightweight ranking.

Dana White spoke about Chandler in the post-fight presser and praised the Missouri native for his grit despite back-to-back losses. He said, “Chandler is like our Arturo Gatti, man. Every time that guy goes in, you know you’re in for a good fight, you know it’s going to be a war, and you don’t know whether he’s going to win or lose.”

Meanwhile, UFC veteran Henry Cejudo thinks Chandler should fight once more and call it a career. While having a conversation on Pound4Pound, the former bantamweight and flyweight champion declared, “I think Chandler should have just one more fight, man. Like, I do. I think he should retire together with me, bro — maybe on the same card. That’s ’cause if I’m Michael Chandler… yeah, I’d retire, bro.”

On the other hand, when Dustin Poirier was asked about Chandler’s fate by Mike Bohn, ‘The Diamond’ said something similar. He said, “I didn’t think Chandler looked great. I thought he had a good first round — got Paddy down, wrist-rode him against the fence, kind of squeaked it out. But he looked flat after that. He looked heavy on his feet, he looked exhausted.” So both veterans think that ‘Iron’ Mike’s gas tank might be running on empty, and that he should retire. Do you think the same? Share your thoughts in the comments below.