Paddy Pimblett returns to the octagon tonight in his biggest test to date against Michael Chandler at UFC 314.
It is by far the most high-profile night of his ascending MMA career so far for Liverpool favourite ‘The Baddy’, who is hoping to significantly boost his ambitions for a future world title shot at lightweight by beating the all-action former three-time Bellator champion in a five-round showdown in Miami, Florida.
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An explosive contest is expected at Kaseya Center as Pimblett and Chandler take co-main event billing before former long-reigning former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski attempts to win back the title recently vacated by Ilia Topuria as he battles Diego Lopes.
The outspoken Pimblett, a former Cage Warriors champion, is undefeated in his six-fight UFC career so far, earning Performance of the Night honours for his emphatic first-round submission of King Green on his last outing at UFC 304 in Manchester last summer.
He had previously outpointed veteran Tony Ferguson having been widely regarded as extremely fortunate to get a decision against Jared Gordon, with submission wins over Jordan Leavitt and Rodrigo Vargas following his early knockout of Luigi Vendramini on debut in 2021.
Pimblett is currently ranked at No12 in a division ruled by formidable reigning pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev, but he will vault inside the top 10 with a statement victory over the No7-ranked Chandler, a favourite of fight fans for his fearless and uncompromising style.
The American is a force to be reckoned with, though could really use a win having lost four of his first six fights in the UFC since a high-profile switch from rival promotion Bellator in 2021, beating durable opponents in Dan Hooker and Ferguson but bested twice by Charles Oliveira as well as Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
Chandler rematched Oliveira in November having been constantly thwarted in his attempts to finally secure a high-profile bout against Conor McGregor.
What time is Paddy Pimblett fight?
As well as Volkanovski vs Lopes and Chandler vs Pimblett, Saturday night’s main card at UFC 314 also features the much-anticipated UFC debut of Brazil’s four-time Bellator world champion Patricio Pitbull, who meets Yair Rodriguez.
Also at featherweight, rivals Bryce Mitchell and Jean Silva collide after a light-heavyweight showdown between Nikita Krylov and Dominick Reyes.
There are four fights each on the early prelim and main prelim bills respectively, with the main-card action in Miami not expected to start until 3am BST in the early hours of Sunday morning - 10pm ET and 7pm PT on Saturday night in the United States.
Obviously much depends on what happens in those earlier fights, but we can expect Chandler vs Pimblett to take place at around 4am BST, 11pm ET and 8pm PT. The exact start time is subject to change.
