UFC Champ Believes Paddy Pimblett Gets Title Shot With Big Name Fight

Paddy Pimblett's star power is all he needs, according to his UFC champion.

Paddy Pimblett (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images), Islam Makhachev (Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images)

UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad thinks Paddy Pimblett only needs one big-name fight to justify a title shot.

Liverpool's Pimblett stormed into the UFC in early 2022, decimating Luigi Vendramini and captivating fight fans ever since. Now 6-0 in the promotion and ranked No. 15 in the lightweight division, it's time for the former Cage Warriors champion to consider a shot at a coveted UFC title.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Belal Muhammad Believes Paddy Pimblett Can Get by on Popularity Alone

Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience on September 3, Muhammad remarked that Pimblett's star power is enough to get him a title shot very soon:

"He's at the point where I think, one more - especially because of his name - if he gets like a [Dan] Hooker or a [Michael] Chandler, and he gets past one of them guys. I see them giving him a title shot," Muhammad remarked.

"... When you're thinking about lightweight, Oliveira just lost, Gaethje just lost, Hooker already lost to Islam. If Islam gets past Arman [Tsarukyan]... If McGregor comes back and he beats Chandler, he's there. But there aren't a lot of names right now for Islam..."

Michael Chandler is set to face Conor McGregor in a fight that's been anticipated for what feels like an eternity. Meanwhile, Dan Hooker, fresh off a victory over Mateusz Gamrot at UFC 305, would make an excellent stylistic matchup for Pimblett.

Dan Hooker currently rides a three-fight winning streak, with upset victories over Jalin Turner and Mateusz Gamrot / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

However, Pimblett might have different designs on his title path.

Paddy Pimblett Outlines Path to UFC Lightweight Title, O'Malley Style

Also Read: Alex Pereira Insists Dricus Du Plessis Take Super-Fight after UFC 307

Speaking to Action Network on August 24, Pimblett detailed his two-fight plan to reach the lightweight title, citing Sean O'Malley as his inspiration:

"I was thinking the other week, the perfect route to the title would have been Moicano and then Charles Oliveria," Pimblett said. "He's like rank 2. That's what O'Malley did. O'Malley went from, like, rank 11 to rank 1 or something."

It's definitely not unheard of for a fighter to make a leap in the rankings as Pimblett describes. O'Malley is a prime example, and recently Steve Erceg was granted a title shot despite being No. 10 at flyweight.

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