Cheater, cheater. Chicken Dinner! UFC 314’s Paddy Pimblett brushes aside rival’s rep for ‘cheating’: “He knows what he’s doing…”

Will Michael Chandler deploy cheating vs. Paddy Pimblett at the upcoming UFC 314 PPV (pay-per-view) co-mains? That is the burning question.

Cheater, cheater. Chicken Dinner! UFC 314’s Paddy Pimblett brushes aside rival’s rep for ‘cheating’: “He knows what he’s doing…”

Paddy Pimblett ignores UFC 314 rival's 'cheating' arsenal (Source: IMAGO/X)

Rising lightweight prospect Paddy Pimblett makes a compelling proportionate case of being a contender if he defeats Michael Chandler. The duo will meet in the next numbered event in a five-round UFC 314 PPV co-main event, April 12 at the Kaseya Center. But “The Baddy” isn’t concerned about how bad of a rep his rival has.

Many have weighed in on the possible allegation that Chandler cheats. Dustin Poirier, who worked past him via a Round 3 rear-naked choke in their FOTN battle, said he smeared blood, fish-hooked, and poked at him. A last-ditch back push and some 12 hammer fists on Charles Oliveira were borderline rabbit-punch illegal. Before UFC 314 fight week, though, “Iron Mike’s” cheating ways or illegal strikes do not deter Paddy Pimblett.

If you’re not cheating, …you’re not trying, [Laughs]…Like, that’s on the ref. He’s just throwing hammerfists at the back of Charles Oliveira’s head. Charles either needs to move his head, or the ref needs to say something to him; I did watch that fight the other day, though. He does hammerfist him 12 times on the back of the head. Just like that, and he knows what he’s doing…

Paddy Pimblett to Jon Anik in UFC 314 PPV pre-fight media sitdown (@ufc)
YouTube video

The smiling Scouser has that do-whatever-and-win mindset and, hence, does not consider those as follies. The MMA clique also knows Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett can go into overdrive sometimes. So, now the rising star has his UFC 314 five-rounder scrap to look forward to. If he can get past Chandler, Pimblett will soon crack top 5 battles in the UFC athlete listings.

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He also thinks that whatever he does, the narrative around his wins keeps shifting. On top of that, recent UFC 155-pound top seed Arman Tsarukyan (both ranked lightweights trailing behind Tsarukyan) recently dumbed down their ‘hype fight.’ He said that he does not heed to such fights or fighters as they are not on his level. Hence, the Next Generation UK team fighter knows he has a long way to go to the big boys’ league. Rabbit punches are the least of his deterrents to gold now.

Michael Chandler refuted Dustin Poirier’s cheating claims

Both Poirier and Chandler have faced big names and gone up in epic battles, win or lose. Their own FOTN battle was one of the best opening frames in a UFC competition fight. However, it had its downfalls. For one, ‘Diamond’ said Chandler fish-hooked and obstructed him many times. After winning the fight, the Lafayette talent even snarked on the rival right after.

Michael Chandler has often shrugged off allegations of cheating
Michael Chandler has often shrugged off allegations of cheating (Source: X)

A last-ditch backpedal or muscle-to-muscle scramble often has fighters reaching for absolutely anything in their grip. Michael Chandler refuses to make an apology for fish-hooking him at UFC 281. He never saw it as foul play or cheating, and he continues to argue the same.

People think that we’re in there making decisions like me making the decision to pick up this pen, …You’re reaching for things, you’re grabbing for things, you’re grappling. A lot of it is muscle memory — I take a guy’s back, reach down, grab the chin, lift the chin, and then go for the choke. So yes, do I think I need to apologize? I don’t think I do.

Michael Chandler on the ‘The MMA Hour’ for MMAFighting on SBN
YouTube video

First, he said he wasn’t trying to fish-hook but then said that he was just trying to get the fingers out of Poirier’s mouth. Chandler reiterated that he understands how some could perceive this as cheating. But promised that over 31 fights (back then; now he stands 23-9 MMA and 2-4 UFC), he has kept a good reputation for the game. The same debacle happened against Oliveira at UFC 309 PPV. To his defense, he lost and had severe beatdown injuries.

Michael Chandler said that referee Keith Peterson was following a tacit rule. A rule that says there’s no need to step in and stop a late-round domination of a fighter who’s on the up on the scorecards unless it’s absolutely illegal. Now, it remains to be seen how the UFC 314 lightweight star fights against Paddy Pimblett next.

Related: Paddy Pimblett cr*zy weight cuts: How much weight does Liverpool fighter lose before UFC fights?