Tag: Paddy Pimblett

USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings, April 15: UFC 314 results in multiple upward shifts

Check out the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings following UFC 314 and 2025 PFL World Tournament 2.

UFC 314 was a major card – with major impacts.

Coming out of Saturday’s fight card in Miami, multiple fighters shifted upward in the official USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings including [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag], [autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag], [autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag], and [autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag].

Additionally, another impactful (though lesser so) fight card took place in the Sunshine State. 2025 PFL World Tournament 2 featured wins from [autotag]Liz Carmouche[/autotag] and [autotag]Ekaterina Shakalova[/autotag].

Check out all the latest pound-for-pound and divisional USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings.

Renato Moicano after UFC 314: ‘I don’t hate Paddy Pimblett’

Renato Moicano is realistic about his current standing with the UFC compared to Paddy Pimblett’s.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – Maybe [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] and [autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag] will still fight some day, but if it happens, it won’t be for a while.

Heading into UFC 314, No. 10 Moicano was still ahead of No. 12 Pimblett in the official lightweight rankings. But after Pimblett’s impressive third-round TKO demolishing of Michael Chandler this past Saturday, “The Baddy” will have vaulted himself into top-five territory.

“I don’t think I’m fighting Paddy Pimblett anytime soon,” Moicano told MMA Junkie on Monday.

Moicano, who fell short in a last-minute title fight with Islam Makhachev this past January, is just being real about the situation. It’s been a slow build to Pimblett’s UFC career ever since his debut in 2021.

Along the way, Pimblett and Moicano have exchanged plenty of trash talk in interviews and on social media, with Pimblett reigniting their feud following Moicano’s loss to Makhachev.

While there’s always been heat between them, Moicano’s tune has changed at least to some degree in the immediate aftermath of UFC 314.

“The thing is, people think I hate Paddy Pimblett. I don’t hate Paddy Pimblett,” Moicano said. “He has a lot of people who know him, so I wanted to fight him, but right now that fight is not a possibility. UFC is behind Paddy Pimblett. We know that. Why? Because Dana White just said in the (UFC 314) press conference a win over Chandler would put him in title contention. I don’t agree with that at all, but who am I to blame? Who am I to talk about UFC?

“UFC knows what they’re doing and if they’re supporting Paddy, it’s for a reason. Next opponent for Paddy Pimblett will be Charles (Oliveira) or Justin (Gaethje) for sure.”

[lawrence-related id=2818195,2818124,2818119,2818082]

What’s next for Moicano is unclear. With his wife expecting a baby in “late May,” Moicano said he’ll be ready to fight after the baby is born.

Moicano said he doesn’t care about the ranking of his opponent, either.

“Just give me an easy fight,” Moicano said.

Michael Bisping: UFC 314 loss to Paddy Pimblett ‘a career-killing performance’ for Michael Chandler

Michael Bisping has officially ruled out Michael Chandler as a top lightweight contender after UFC 314.

[autotag]Michael Bisping[/autotag] has officially ruled out [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] as a top lightweight contender after UFC 314.

Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC) suffered a third-round TKO loss to [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event at Kaseya Center in Miami. The former Bellator champion and UFC title challenger now has lost three consecutive fights and five of his past six.

Chandler constantly uses the moniker “see you at the top,” but Bisping believes those days are over.

“I don’t say this lightly, but that was a career-killing performance for Michael Chandler,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “Yes, of course, he’ll fight again. Yes, he’ll still make money. Yes, people will want to tune in. But that’s it. There ain’t no more title talks, there is no more,’see you at the top.’ There’s none of that.

“Paddy Pimblett just put an end to all of that. If he was 30 years old, he could have another go. He could dust himself off and have another crack at the whip. But no, father time is undefeated. He’s 38 years old, and there ain’t no way that he’s getting back into title contention ever again.”

On the contrary, Bisping was very impressed with Pimblett’s largely one-sided performance against Chandler.

“Paddy Pimblett looked ridiculous,” Bisping said. “He looked like the guy that he’s always spoke about, the person that he says that he is, the person that calls out everyone, that dismisses all the opposition at the top. And for someone who doesn’t call people out, he called out everyone.

“Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, he did not give a single f*ck and rightly so. The man is coming to be a champion. Will he do that? We don’t know, but I’ll tell you what: After this performance, everyone’s going to be taking him a lot more seriously. He looked like a killer tonight.”

[lawrence-related id=2818119,2817981,2817422,2817935]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

Dustin Poirier sees clear next matchup for ‘legit’ Paddy Pimblett after UFC 314 win

Dustin Poirier sees Paddy Pimblett as a legit lightweight contender after UFC 314, and has an idea of who he should face next.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] is undeniable as a top lightweight after dominating and finishing Michael Chandler at UFC 314.

Former interim champ Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) served as a desk analyst for ESPN this past Saturday when Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) went into his co-main event with Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC) and delivered a bloody third-round TKO win at Kaseya Center in Miami. Although “The Baddy” had his share of supporters coming in, the matchup was a clear step up in competition, and his naysayers weren’t sure if he’d overcome it.

Turns out, Pimblett passed the test with flying colors, and put himself firmly among the top tier at 155 pounds.

“He’s legit,” Poirier told MMA Junkie on Monday. “How can I deny him any more? Chandler’s a tough guy. I don’t think Chandler looked great. He had a good first round, got Paddy down, wrist-rode him against the fence, kind of squeaked it out, but he looked flat after that. He looked heavy on his feet. He looked exhausted. Like I said on the desk: Everyone’s odometer has a different mileage where things start to slow down, the wheels start to shake. Maybe that’s his time now, but only he knows that.”

Poirier, 36, doesn’t want to downplay Pimblett’s performance by asking too many questions about the state of Chandler’s career. He admittedly hold ill will toward his former opponent Chandler, who he submitted at UFC 281 in November 2022. Poirier prefers to give Pimblett his due.

“I definitely think Chandler didn’t look great, but not taking away from Paddy’s performance,” Poirier said. “Paddy went out there, dropped the first round, came out confident and hit Chandler with good shots. Then he took him down. Who would’ve have had that on their bingo card that Paddy is going to take down Chandler to the mat like that and get on top of him and dominate him like that. Paddy’s the real deal.”

Poirier intends to retire after his next fight, which is rumored to take place this summer. If he was sticking around longer, though, he said Pimblett would certainly be a realistic and worthwhile opponent given what he’s now done.

But seeing as that is not in play, Poirier said he would very much like see to Pimblett take on another one of his former opponents in Dan Hooker, who is riding a three-fight winning streak.

“The guy was a prospect. Now he’s a contender,” Poirier said. “You have to take him for real now. Not that Chandler wasn’t a big fight, but his next fight has to be a really big one. Like a (Mateusz) Gamrot, Arman (Tsarukyan), (Charles) Oliveira – behind the scenes, I’ve got stuff, so I can’t entertain that and I’m only fighting one more time, but for me as a fan, put him in there with Dan Hooker. That would be an incredible fight. That’s a fun fight. The build up is going to be fun. Dan is going to stand and trade with him. Dan has good takedown defense, on the ground. That’s the fight, I think.”

[lawrence-related id=2818119,2818082,2817422]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: UFC 314 fallout for Volkanovski and Pimblett, plus GFL’s debacle and more

On the latest episode of Spinning Back Clique, the panel looks back at UFC 314, talks about the latest major MMA news and more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia, along with special guest coach Eric Nicksick from Xtreme Couture, live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • UFC 314 saw the vacant featherweight belt go to [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] when he beat [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag]. Also, UFC star [autotag]Paddy Pimblett [/autotag] took a giant leap in his career when he destroyed former Bellator champion [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] in the co-main event. We look back at those bouts, plus many other key fights on the card.
  • The fallout of fighters leaving the PFL, particularly ones who came over from Bellator, continues. The latest is Aaron Pico, who has signed with the UFC. We talk about his potential there in the featherweight division.
  • She retired, but we know how that goes in MMA. Former UFC two-division champion Amanda Nunes told MMA Junkie she’s fully prepared to return to fight the winner of Julianna Peña vs. Kayla Harrison. She’s also going into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer. But should she come back?
  • If it ever was fair to call something a dumpster fire, now might be the time. The Global Fight League made giant promises, “signed” giant names and made a big fuss over fighter revenue splits and a “live” draft. Then it canceled both its shows in Los Angeles next month because it can’t pay the bills.

Colby Covington vows to end Paddy Pimblett’s hype after UFC 314 altercation: ‘He’s never going to be champion’

Colby Covington confronted Paddy Pimblett during UFC 314.

[autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] confronted [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] during UFC 314.

After Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) finished Michael Chandler in Saturday’s co-headliner at Kaseya Center in Miami, he crossed paths with Covington backstage, and the pair went at it. Pimblett addressed his side of the story, where he accused Covington of trying to use his name to stay relevant.

Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) fired back.

“He’s been loving to run my name through his mouth in the media,” Covington told Full Send MMA. “He talks about me every chance he gets, so I just said, ‘Hey, what’s up, bro? Do you want to talk about me to my face right now? Say something now.’ He has nothing to say. He had a mic in Vegas when I fought in the title fight and he didn’t say sh*t.

“He sat there like a good little b*tch and didn’t say sh*t. He didn’t say his little sausage lines, that Ellen Degeneres-looking f*cking nerd. He had nothing to say. He was piped down like the little b*tch he is. I’m just sick of him running my name through his mouth. I’m going to confront you, and we’re going to talk about it.”

Although Pimblett is unbeaten in the UFC, Covington downplayed his resume. The former interim welterweight champion is on a two-fight losing skid, but argued his accolades have been far more impressive. He’s willing to settle things with Pimblett, even though “The Baddy” said he has bigger fish to fry.

“Let’s talk about facts, though: The facts are that the combined losing streak of his last three opponents is a 13-fight losing streak,” Covington said. “The guy’s never going to get to a title fight, he’s never going to be a champion, he’s a f*cking bum. All he does is mumble sausages all day. That’s all he can say. … He was on my undercard, by the way. I’m a real star. I’m not a gimmick like Paddy Pimblett. Oh yeah: ‘I’ve got a stupid bowl cut, I’ve got an English accent and I look like Ellen Degeneres.’ I’m not a gimmick. I’m a real fighter. I’m a real champion.

“I’ve f*cking been here, and I’ve done that. He hasn’t done sh*t. He’s fighting guys that are on massive losing streaks. Tony Ferguson, seven (or) eight-fight losing streak. Michael Chandler (three)-fight losing streak. the guy before that, I don’t even know who he fought. He lost to a f*cking drug addict. Everybody knows he really lost to that drug addict, f*cking (Jared) Gordon that he fought. Everybody knows he’s all hype, and I want to be the one who ends this hype. He keeps putting my name in his mouth, he’s going to end up with my foot in his ass.”

[lawrence-related id=2811554,2804262,2797538,2817422]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

Paddy Pimblett explains why UFC 314 callout list didn’t include Ilia Topuria

In the cage at UFC 314, Paddy Pimblett rattled off a list of callouts – but Ilia Topuria was not mentioned.

MIAMI – [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] made a statement with his performance Saturday at UFC 314. He then made a callout, or a series of them, on the microphone.

Four names came to mind: Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, and Arman Tsarukyan. One name was notedly missing, however.

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] was not mentioned. But why?

“To be honest, I forgot about him,” Pimblett laughed, during a post-fight news conference. “I forgot all about him or I would’ve mentioned him in the cage, you know what I mean? I don’t call him ‘Hand Sanitizer Boy’ any more. … But like I said, I literally forgot all about him. That’s how irrelevant he is. I’m ranked higher than he is at lightweight, so I’d love to welcome him to 155.

Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) have history stemming back to a March 2022 hotel altercation and online trash talk that led up to it.

Pimblett finished Michael Chandler at Kaseya Center on Saturday, the consensus biggest win over his career. According to Pimblett, there are a lot of similarities between what he did to Chandler (23-10 MMA, 2-5 UFC) and what he’d do to Topuria.

“Apparently, he’s sitting out and waiting for the title shot,” Pimblett said. What I just did to Chandler is half the blue print of beating him. He’s even more of a midget than Chandler is. I’ll do the exact same thing of what I did to Chandler. But as I said, anyone can get it, all the names I mentioned. And even McGregor, putting money on Chandler to win, lad? Like, the Irish-Scouse connection, lad. He’s meant to back me but he never (does).”

[lawrence-related id=2817838,2817422]

One way or another, Pimblett is gunning for title gold. He hopes for one more contender fight and then a championship bout. 2026 is his target year to be crowned.

“I want to be a world champion,” Pimblett said. “I’ve always said that I’m going to be a world champion and beating a former champion like Charles Oliveira, who had two title defenses, he gets called the best submission artist the division has ever seen. So I’d like to go up against that because I think I’ve got better submissions than Charles Oliveira. … I f*cking hope so. 2026, I want that belt wrapped around my waist.”

[lawrence-related id=2817422,2817935]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

Dana White: Paddy Pimblett ‘the real deal’ after stopping Michael Chandler at UFC 314

Dana White praises Paddy Pimblett for his stoppage win over Michael Chandler at Saturday’s UFC 314 in Miami.

MIAMI – [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] impressed many at UFC 314, including UFC CEO [autotag]Dana White[/autotag].

In his biggest career fight, Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) dominated and stopped former Bellator champion [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) by third-round TKO in the co-main event of Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view, which took place at Kaseya Center.

White believes this was a key win for Paddy “The Baddy,” as he silenced the doubters and critics of his UFC run.

“People keep counting him out, but he keeps looking better, better, and better every time he shows up,” White told reporters at the UFC 314 post-fight press conference. “Yeah, Paddy Pimblett showed tonight he’s the real deal. Beating Michael Chandler and beating him the way he did, I don’t know how you can’t doubt the kid anymore.”

After the fight, Pimblett took aim at the top dogs of the division, calling out contenders Dustin Poirier, Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Arman Tsarukyan.

White agrees with the Englishman, and says big fights await him.

“He’s in that spot where he’s going to be fighting top guys.”

[lawrence-related id=2817422,2817935]

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

UFC 314 video: Paddy Pimblett, Colby Covington restrained in backstage altercation

Backstage at UFC 314, Paddy Pimblett and Colby Covington got into a heated screaming match before staff intervened.

UFC 314 almost had a bonus fight backstage at Kaseya Center in Miami.

Fresh off his win over Michael Chandler and doing post-fight broadcast partner interviews, [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] engaged in a screaming match with [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag].

The altercation was caught on video by ESPN, during which both fighters threatened to slap the other. Covington called Pimblett a “bum,” and Pimblett returned by calling Covington “a maggot” and accusing him of putting on an act.

[lawrence-related id=2817422,2817935]

“He only does something when a camera is about,” Pimblett said on the post-fight show. “I seen him at Power Slap the other week and walked past him. I was staring at him and he looked at the floor like this. Now, he knows there is a camera about. He walked past, so I just said to him, ‘I’ll go and slap you, but you’ll go and ring the police like you did with (Jorge) Masvidal you little grass (snitch).

“… Anyway, he ain’t sh*t. He pays supermodels to stand with him, the f*cking bum. He’s a nobody. He’s on a three-fight losing streak. He’s irrelevant. He’s trying to use me now to stay relevant because he’s a nobody. He’s a bum. I’ll beat Colby Covington for the laugh but I’ve got bigger fish to fry than that little mushroom.”

Covington has yet to comment publicly on the altercation.

Check out video of the altercation below:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.

UFC 314 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Michael Chandler, Paddy Pimblett combine for $12,000

Michael Chandler and Paddy Pimblett combined for a $12,000 payout under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program at UFC 314.

MIAMI – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 314 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $300,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 314 took place at Kaseya Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 314 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag]: $32,000

[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Jean Silva[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Bryce Mitchell[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Patricio Freire[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Nikita Krylov[/autotag]: $16,000

[autotag]Dan Ige[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Sean Woodson[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Virna Jandiroba[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Yan Xiaonan[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Chase Hooper[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Julian Erosa[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Darren Elkins[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Michal Oleksiejczuk[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Sedriques Dumas[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Su Mudaerji[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Mitch Raposo[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Marco Tulio[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Tresean Gore[/autotag]: $4,500

[autotag]Nora Cornolle[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Hailey Cowan[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2025 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $2,579,500
2024 total: $8,280,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $33,597,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.