6 Best UFC Opponents for Paddy Pimblett

Go ahead and call it a British Invasion, MMA-style.

Paddy Pimblett, a flop-topped, trash-talking lightweight from the same English city that birthed The Beatles, strode out of the Kaseya Center in Miami early Sunday morning having seized the UFC narrative with genuine "Fab Four" aplomb.

His bludgeoning of stars-and-stripes-draped foe Michael Chandler in the UFC 314 co-main event drew an ear-splitting pop from a partisan America-first crowd, which replaced its "USA, USA" drone with his signature "Oh, Paddy the Baddy!" chorus.

And naturally, an imminent spike into a single-digit ranking at 155 pounds has created boundless competitive options for one of the promotion's few bona fide stars.

The B/R combat team sat down in the afterglow of Pimblett's ascension and came up with a list of the six most logical opponents for the 30-year-old phenom, who's now won seven straight fights (with five finishes) since arriving in late 2021.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.

If a title shot is Pimblett's objective, Arman Tsarukyan is the logical gatekeeper.

After all, the 28-year-old from Georgia is the No. 1 contender at 155 pounds and was set to challenge champion Islam Makhachev in January before pulling out with an apparent back injury he said was sustained during the weight cut.

UFC boss Dana White said the late exit cost Tsarukyan his claim to an immediate title fight, and the fighter said in the aftermath that he'd welcome bouts with either of the two men right behind him in the rankings: second-ranked Charles Oliveira or No. 3 contender Justin Gaethje.

But given Pimblett's sudden rise and what seems to be a genuine enmity between them, it wouldn't be hard to connect the dots on a title eliminator. And no less an authority than Dan Hooker, ranked sixth in the weight class, said it's a logical appetizer to a Makhachev-Gaethje main dish.

"Very impressive," Hooker said of Pimblett's win over Chandler. "I think Gaethje gets the title shot and Paddy and Arman makes sense."

What's better than beating a guy who witnessed the Chandler fight up close?

Justin Gaethje was in the front row of the spectator section to see Pimblett's demolition of a foe he had beaten by decision at UFC 268 more than three years ago. And he was there to hear the Liverpool fighter list him among a group of would-be next opponents.

Pimblett included Gaethje among the lightweight legends against whom he'd like to test himself. The Tucson native has been to the brink of championship status twice, losing title tries against Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 and Oliveira in 2022.

He was knocked cold by Max Holloway for the "BMF" title at UFC 300 last spring, then bounced back to outpoint Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313 in March.

"These are all names etched in the history of the lightweight division," Pimblett said. "Names people recognize and love. So beating them would be boss."

Ilia Topuria is not ranked at 155 pounds, though he does have championship pedigree from his days as Alexander Volkanovski's lone conqueror at featherweight.

So if Pimblett is looking to raise his title profile, the skilled Georgian isn't a necessary risk to take. But if having a beef with someone is the way to get a fight made, this one could have a case made for it.

Pimblett and Topuria scuffled at a hotel during the run-up to a UFC event in London three years ago and had another verbal exchange later in 2022 during a pre-fight press conference ahead of UFC 282 in Las Vegas.

"The Baddy" didn't mention Topuria during his run of post-fight call-outs after the Chandler victory, but he later said there'd been a reason for it.

“To be honest, I forgot about him,” Pimblett said. “I forgot all about him, or I would've mentioned him in the cage. … That's how irrelevant he is. I'm ranked higher than he is at lightweight so I'd love to welcome him at 155, but apparently he's sitting out and waiting for the title shot."

If legends are Pimblett's quarry, he could do a lot worse than Dustin Poirier.

The popular 36-year-old was among the names in the winner's mouth on Saturday after beating a man Poirier had submitted via rear-naked choke at UFC 281.

Poirier had a clear view of the carnage from his perch as an ESPN desk analyst, and he quickly amended his pre-fight thought that Pimblett's gimmick exceeded his skill.

"I thought he was a goofy-looking guy with a silly haircut that people were getting behind like a fad," he said. "Like, this is fun, to cheer this goofy-looking guy on. But, when you have a perfect storm like this, where you are the goofy guy and you say these things and go out there and win fights, you can become a massive star."

Poirier hasn't fought since he was submitted in a title try against Makhachev last June and suggested retirement was an option, but he's since said he's aiming for one last fight and is campaigning for a pay-per-view in his home state of Louisiana.

Whether he'd be willing to take on such a dangerous challenge as a swan song is anyone's guess, but there aren't many options that would draw any more eyeballs.

Into (nearly) every list of would-be UFC foes, a little Conor McGregor must fall.

Though it's been nearly four years since his last fight and more than five since his last win, the Notorious one stays relevant thanks to a resume that includes world titles in two divisions and eight PPVs with seven-digit buy rates.

It was the latter item on Pimblett's mind when, after chiding the Irishman for his reported $500,000 wager on Chandler, he suggested the two of them could do huge business at any number of big venues in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including Anfield, home of the Scouser's beloved Liverpool.

Competitively speaking, there are bigger fights. Particularly if Pimblett's main objective is a UFC title belt.

But there are no bigger events.

"If you're coming back, let's do it," Pimblett said. "You could get excited about that. You could do that at Wembley. Me and Conor sells Wembley out, sells Anfield out, sells Croke Park out. But anyone can get it. Anyone."

It seems to be the fight Pimblett wants most.

He reeled through a short laundry list of names after conquering Chandler, but spent the most time chatting up Charles Oliveira, who won, twice defended and then lost the lightweight championship across 17 months in 2021 and 2022.

The Brazilian has fought three times since his loss to Makhachev, KO'ing Beneil Dariush and outpointing Chandler alongside a split loss to Tsarukyan at UFC 300.

He's the promotion's all-time leader in bonuses (20), finishes (20) and submissions (16), and it was the latter fact upon which Pimblett seized while establishing the narrative of a would-be clash between him and the 35-year-old jiu-jitsu ace.

"I wanna be a world champion, I'm gonna be a world champion," he said. "And beating a former champion like Charles Oliveira who had two title defenses, he gets called the best submission artist the UFC has ever seen. I'd love to go up against that because I think I've got better submissions than Charles Oliveira."

Former middleweight king and current analyst Michael Bisping signed off on the idea, too, which is good enough for us to make it our top choice.

"Paddy Pimblett's jiu-jitsu is fantastic," Bisping said. "Charles Oliveira is the submission king, he's got the most bonuses, he's got the most finishes, he's a former champion and doesn't have a fight booked right now. This should be it."