Michael Chandler has reacted to the UFC 324 headliner between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett that went down last month at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Gaethje and Pimblett fought for the interim lightweight title on January 24, and after five rounds of absolute war, “The Highlight” cruised to a unanimous decision win.
Despite the bout being highly entertaining and packed with nonstop back-and-forth action, several fans and analysts criticized the fighters for not showcasing technical MMA skills and just standing and brawling nonstop for 25 minutes.
Michael Chandler, who was in attendance at UFC 324, was, however, not disappointed by either Paddy Pimblett or Justin Gaethje’s performance and has labeled the slugfest between them a “good fight.” He told MMA Fighting:
It was good, it was a good fight. Obviously, it was dominant by Gaethje because he kept a good game plan, but there were moments where you saw the toughness, obviously, of Paddy, the durability of Paddy, and even just the abilities of Paddy. I mean, he’s, like I said, he’s better than everybody gave him credit for, and just the mentality of Justin, and he’s a hammer looking to smash a nail and, and Paddy doesn’t have maybe the skills, or the abilities, and violence that Justin has, but he took a licking and kept on ticking, man.”
Michael Chandler wants to run it back with Justin Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett
“Iron” has shared the octagon with Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje and lost to both fighters.
While commending the iron chin and durability, “The Baddy” showcased against Justin Gaethje at UFC 324, Michael Chandler added during the same interview that in the future, perhaps he might want to run it back with either Gaethje or the Liverpudlian.
“He [Paddy Pimblett] got dropped a couple of times, got back up. He was busted up. He was bruised, and he still had his moments where he was landing shots and landing punches, and going for takedowns and throwing kicks and hitting Justin with, I think, more than people expected him to. So it was a good fight. It was a fun fight. And yeah, man, maybe I’ll tussle with one of those guys in the future. We’ll see.”
Michael Chandler added that Gaethje, despite being 37, is still one of the top UFC lightweights. About Pimblett, “Iron” said that the former might not have the skill to be among the top 155-pounders just yet, but he sure has the “heart of a champion.”
It’s one of those deals where, man, I was entertained. I thought it was a great fight. I think the storyline was Justin Gaethje is still one of the top guys in the division, Paddy Pimblett may be, not necessarily one of the top guys in the division from a skill standpoint when you watch that fight, but he’s tougher than nails, and he’s got the heart of a champion.” [h/t: MMA Fighting]
Check out Michael Chandler’s comments below:
Paddy Pimblett was dropped numerous times at UFC 324 by Justin Gaethje, as “Iron” recalled, and the Brit also got his face totally pieced up. He absorbed a ton of damage but kept getting up, marching forward, and fighting until the final bell.
Days after the UFC 324 loss, Pimblett returned to the gym and has already been hitting the pads and is targeting a summer return.
