Michael Chandler‘s return to Nashville wasn’t as glorious as he had imagined. For the third consecutive time—an unfortunate streak that started vs Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 (2022)—the 38-year-old’s face was a rather unfortunate reminder of the day he had just experienced at the UFC 314. To say Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett had not come all guns blazing at the five-round co-main event would be an understatement. While the first round seemed somewhat even with ‘Iron’ managing to direct some blows at his opponent, the scale soon tilted in the Briton’s favor.

In the third round, Pimblett went on the offensive early on, landing a jumping knee strike, splitting Chandler’s face open. Bloodied and battered, it wasn’t long before the US fighter faced a TKO loss with 3:07 left in the round, serving Pimblett the biggest victory of his career. After the fight, the message was clear. Pimblett had managed to silence critics, which the fighter also touched upon with an ambitious (read: directed) attack: “This is how we win. We game plan, we use our fight IQ, and we beat motherf***ers up. Anyone else got any questions?” Notably, this was the 30-year-old’s seventh victory since joining the UFC in 2021, and the second-longest winning streak in the lightweight division after Islam Makhachev (15). No wonder the recent victor’s goals are lofty.

“I want that world title,” Pimblett said, before adding, “Laugh all youse want and say I’ll never be champ, just like you said I’ll never get ranked, I’ll never be in the top 10, but what now…?” And looks he he already has a couple of names in mind: Charles Oliveira (35-10-1NC), Dustin Poirier (30-9-1NC), Justin Gaethje (26-5), and Ilia Topuria (16-0-0). And looks like even Hall of Famer and two-division champion Daniel Cormier—who opines Pimblett’s road to a title isn’t going to be that long—already has a list in mind. He thinks that if Pimblett plays his cards right and uses time to his advantage, we may see him holding the lightweight title.

On the Good Guy/Bad Guy podcast with co-host Chael Sonnen, ‘DC’ put himself in the shoes of UFC President and CEO Dana White to speculate how White should book Paddy Pimblett’s next fight and set him up for a future lightweight title fight after another victory. “I would try to fight him in there with Charles Oliveira. Let me tell you why, because matchup-wise, I think it’s a decent matchup for Paddy. I think it’s a good match-up in terms of—if he can win, what it would do for him. But more than anything—Charles Oliveira, sure. But for me it’s about buying time for Paddy Pimblett.”, Cormier said.

He further added, “Islam Makhachev would be a nightmare of a matchup against anyone. Time is your friend with Paddy Pimblett because if Belal Muhammad does not get the job done, Islam says he’s going up, right? The moment Islam is gone, put him in a title fight, whoever he’s fighting, put him in a title fight, I’m not saying Paddy cannot fight Islam and beat Islam. I’m saying if there’s anyone in that weight class that’s a real-life problem, it’s the champion.”

In Cormier’s words, Islam Makhachev will aim to go for the welterweight title soon. When he does that, it will be the correct time for Paddy to face an opponent for the lightweight title. However, it’s not that ‘DC’ thinks ‘The Baddy’ can’t beat Makhachev. He believes that at this moment, Islam stands arguably unmatched in the division, with only Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira as the true challengers for the Dagestani.

He further stated that Dana needs to recognize Pimblett’s star power and the money the Scouser can bring for the organization, which is why the UFC needs to maneuver Pimblett’s path to glory according to that of Makhachev’s welterweight run. From Pimblett’s TKO win over Chandler to his iconic post-fight speech, with a giant crowd behind him, ‘The Baddy’ must be on cloud nine.

While Cormier readied a path for Pimblett’s UFC glory, many other veterans who were stunned by The Baddy’s performance were also left with no options but to speculate what the future holds for the Scouser who has just dominated a two-time title challenger.

Let’s find out what they had to say.

Veterans predict future opponents for Paddy Pimblett

After a successful event of UFC 314 full of exciting outcomes and moments, UFC Hall of Famer and former MW Champion Michael Bisping had some pretty high praise for the Scouser while he discussed his future. Bisping seemed impressed not just by Paddy’s performance but how he took over the show with his callouts.

While talking about Pimblett, Bisping said: “We know he called everyone out on the microphone afterwards. I love it, I love the fact that he called out all the top guys, Dustin, Justin, Charles or the little posh boy Arman. He ain’t going to get a title fight against Islam Makhachev. I think that’s going to go to Ilia but he did call out Charles Olivera, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.” 

A great callout indeed, Bisping also seemed excited over Pimblett’s potential fight with Oliveira, saying: “A special emphasis on Charles Oliveira. I think that’s the fight that’s got to get made. Paddy Pimblett’s jiu-jitsu is fantastic, Charles Olivera is the submission king, he’s got the most bonuses he’s got the most finishes he’s a former champion. Charles Olivera doesn’t have a fight booked right now and this would be it, I mean who knew we’d be having this conversation. Paddy Pimblett versus Charles Olivera, a number one contender matchup that would be incredible.”

Now, Pimblett has left the whole MMA community apologizing for counting him out. His performance had Dustin Poirier calling the Scouser legit, who he previously thought would lose to Chandler. While talking about Pimblett’s victory over Chandler, Poirier said: “He’s legit! How can I deny him any more? Chandler’s a tough guy. I don’t think Chandler looked great.”

With the whole community now looking over to see who he will fight next, we may see the rise of the next UFC mega-star in Paddy Pimblett. A title shot seems inevitable considering he beats a top 5 lightweight in his next bout with fans and veterans lining his opponents up. Who do you think Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett will face next? Let us know in the comments.