Many of life’s greatest moments come as a result of timing. In the case of rising star and UFC lightweight Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett, there’s no better time than right now to enter the defining fight of his 13-year professional career.
Pimblett (22-3), whose hype has typically outshined his actual level of talent up to this point, enters a five-round, co-main event slot at Saturday’s UFC 314 pay-per-view card in Miami against former title challenger Michael Chandler (23-9) with a shot at silencing his critics and catapulting himself into legitimate title contention at 155 pounds.
With a previous tendency of blowing up in weight between fights, which has led to a mixed bag of performances (including a controversial decision win over Jared Gordon in 2022), Pimblett is entering his moment of truth inside the Octagon in the best shape of his career and a renewed mindset after his wife Laura gave birth to twins in 2023.
“[Fatherhood] changed my life in every way possible, to be honest,” Pimblett told “UFC Embedded” cameras this week. “I’m up early everyday. I’ve got to put these [babies] to bed early every night. It makes me train harder. You feel like you want to quit, you just think of these because…
