By any measure of meritocracy, Paddy Pimblett didn’t deserve to fight for an interim title at UFC 324 but hype and potential go a long way when it comes to making the biggest and best matchups.
Based on the MMA Fighting Global Rankings, Pimblett doesn’t hold a single win over anybody ranked in the top 15 and his biggest victory came against Michael Chandler, who sports a 2-5 record in the UFC with his most notable performance coming against Dan Hooker in 2021. While Pimblett showed incredible heart
and durability in the five-round war at UFC 324, he never truly threatened Gaethje and he ultimately lost in lopsided fashion.
That’s why UFC legend Matt Brown argues that while he doesn’t buy that Pimblett got fraud-checked in his loss to Gaethje, the 31-year-old Scouser still has a lot to prove, especially if he wants to justify all the attention he’s received thus far in his career.
“That’s the problem with Paddy … I don’t know if I pick him against anybody in the top 10,” Brown said on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “Maybe even like top 12, top 13. I’m not sure how far I’d have to go down to find somebody I’d favor him against.”
The biggest problem with Pimblett is that there’s no great measuring stick to use when comparing him to other fighters ranked in the top 15 at lightweight.
What comes next for Pimblett might be his most important fight to date because after competing for a title, Brown doesn’t see any way to put him against lower ranked opponents.
At the same time, Benoit Saint Denis is surging off four straight wins — all by finish — and he’s gunning for the top of the lightweight division, especially after taking out Dan Hooker at UFC 325. He struggled in his first “prove it” fight when he lost to Dustin Poirier and then fell to Renato Moicano in his next outing but Saint Denis has since bounced back in a major way.
Brown views Saint Denis as the perfect matchup to see where Pimblett stands in the division and it offers the French lightweight the chance to show he’s ready to insert his name in title contention at 155 pounds.
“I mean look Paddy’s supposedly a top guy, he just fought for an interim title,” Brown said. “Give [Benoit Saint Denis] Paddy. Let’s see who is the top guy here. You’re in the UFC, you just fought for an interim title. There shouldn’t be anybody that Paddy doesn’t fight. You just fought for an interim title, buddy. These are all fair matchups. You were thought to be better than all these other guys. Go for it.
“I think Saint Denis deserves it. He stepped up, he’s fought. He lost to Dustin Poirier, which is first foray into the top 5 guys. What a tough fight that was. That gives him another chance to get his name out there and he’s an exciting fighter, too. He’s worth giving that kind of fight to. He beats Paddy, that gives him a lot of star, name value. He gets his name out there a lot and people start to really know who he is and you find out who Paddy is.”
Since those back-to-back losses, Saint Denis’ wins have come over Hooker, Mauricio Ruffy, Beneil Dariush and Kyle Prepolec. Both Hooker and Dariush are perennial top 10 lightweights and Ruffy is likely going to secure his own spot in the rankings after he took out Rafael Fiziev this past weekend.
That résumé trumps what Pimblett has done thus far in the octagon, which is why Brown believes he should immediately call for the fight against Saint Denis to show he’s a legitimate top fighter in the lightweight division.
“I think we need to find out who Paddy is,” Brown said. “We know where Saint Denis is, right? Losing to Dustin Poirier, you weren’t there. Beating Dan Hooker, we’ve got it narrowed down where you’re at now. That doesn’t mean he can’t surpass where he was before because hopefully he’s getting better everyday.
“But Paddy, we just don’t know where he is. Matchup wise, I think that’s a really great matchup, too. Saint Denis is a little wild on the feet but both of them great grappling. It could be a great grappling battle. Saint Denis hits hard, comes forward, fights hard, I think it’s a great matchup. I should be a matchmaker.”
