Michael Chandler watched his two former opponents battle it out for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324.
Justin Gaethje (27-5 MMA, 10-5 UFC) knocked down Paddy Pimblett (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) twice en route to a unanimous decision win to claim the interim belt at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Gaethje left Pimblett bloodied and battered, but the Brit managed to survive five rounds.
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Despite Pimblett’s loss, Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC) saw a lot of positives.
“One thing that was shown that night – or two things, one for each guy: Justin Gaethje is still at the top of the division, and also Paddy Pimblett is a real contender, and he’s a very, very tough guy” Chandler told MMA Junkie in an interview on behalf of Phorm Energy. “Dealing with the punches that he got landed on him, getting rocked, standing back up, still landing punches against Gaethje, going the full 25 minutes. It was a good, fun, knockdown, drag-out war.
“You feel like your brain says Gaethje should win this nine times out of 10, but then you’ve got those moments where Paddy just felt like, man, is this about to be where he gets to the next level, gets a win against a guy who’s been in the game for a long time, a veteran. But he at least went out there and showed how tough he is.”
Chandler’s most recent outing came in a TKO loss to Pimblett at UFC 314. He also lost to Gaethje in a Fight of the Year battle at UFC 268 in November 2021.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Chandler weighs in on Justin Gaethje’s win over Paddy Pimblett
