The UFC 314 co-main occasion options an intriguing light-weight match between No. 7 ranked Michael Chandler and No. 12 ranked Paddy Pimblett.
Chandler will enter the combat coming off back-to-back losses and having misplaced 4 of his final 5 fights. These 4 losses have been to former interim titleholders or undisputed champions: Charles Oliveira (twice), Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. The previous three-time Bellator light-weight champion has extra expertise than Pimblett and has been in greater profile fights.
Regardless of Chandler’s expertise benefit and knockout prowess, former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker went with the Englishman to win on Saturday.
“I positively assume Paddy can win. I feel he has a path to victory,” Whittaker mentioned on the MMArcade Podcast. “I do not know if Paddy has ever come throughout a man that’s as explosive and as athletic as Michael Chandler.
“What retains flashing again to me is Michael Chandler vs. [Dan] Hooker,” Whittaker continued. “And Hooker is so arduous to place away, however the explosiveness, to shut that hole. And to be honest, when Michael Chandler explodes like that, he creates issues for everybody. Although he misplaced these final two fights, he created issues for Poirier in that first spherical, huge issues. He created issues Charles within the final spherical.”
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When Whittaker performs the combat out in his thoughts, he sees Pimblett rising to the event and choosing up the largest win of his profession.
“That is the sensation Michael Chandler has given me the previous couple of years. He’s so promising. He’s so harmful and powerful and actually seems like he is about to place the blokes he is preventing away however then one thing occurs and he gasses. He will get drained and he both will get submitted or will get completed,” Whittaker mentioned.
“I reckon Chandler’s going to come back out actually sizzling and heavy. He will come out arduous and quick like he all the time does. He’ll slowly fade. I count on Paddy to start out beating him with quantity. If Chandler goes for a lazy takedown, Paddy, his submission recreation is tremendous underrated. That is how I really feel in regards to the combat. I’ve acquired Paddy profitable.”
