Chael Sonnen questions if Paddy Pimblett is elite or if Michael Chandler is finished after UFC 314 result
Paddy Pimblett's dominating TKO victory over Michael Chandler has many in the MMA community asking questions. Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on an emerging talking point from that lightweight contest at UFC 314.
When addressing a recent headline that asked the question 'is Paddy Pimblett that good or does Michael Chandler suck?' Sonnen mentioned how it pained him even to repeat the headline. He also said:
"I think that's so rude to Chandler. This is an expression to attempt to prove a point. Is Paddy that good? Is Paddy as great as we're seeing or is he catching some guys at the right time? It's a tough conversation to have because you can't have it without potentially insulting Paddy, who wouldn't deserve it."
The UFC Hall of Famer added:
"He's showing up, he's fighting whoever, whenever, and he's finding a way to win. Big question with the Chandler fight, did he look so good that he beat the All-American wrestler Michael Chandler at wrestling, followed by beating him up in MMA or is Chandler not as good as perhaps we believe? You see where saying that can be very hard?"
Check out Chael Sonnen's comments about Paddy Pimblett and Michael Chandler below:
Paddy Pimblett vs. Michael Chandler broken down by former UFC champion
In a recent JRE episode, discussing whether Paddy Pimblett is that good or Michael Chandler is not quite on the level, Ilia Topuria weighed in on the subject. While Topuria did tip his proverbial cap to the 30-year-old for earning a win in the UFC 314 co-main event, it became clear that 'La Leyenda' does not rate Chandler highly.
"He did a great job. He did what he had to do, but for me, I'm going to I'm going to be completely honest with you. For me, Chandler, he never was an extraordinary fighter. He was like average-level fighter. Who did he beat in the UFC? So he beat Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson, when he [Ferguson] was almost 40 years old."
The Brit got the job done against the former multi-time Bellator champion, but Topuria seems to see it through the lens of Pimblett beating a less refined, action-intensive fighter. He said:
"At the end of the day, you see wars. It's a very competitive fight. You see almost a bar fight." [h/t: MMA Junkie]
Check out Ilia Topuria's comments below: