Paddy Pimblett won’t be the next Conor McGregor. UFC 314: Volkanovski vs Lopes | SUN 13 APRIL | Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski looks to become a two-time World Champion as he takes on Brazil’s Diego Lopes for the vacant Undisputed Featherweight title, in Miami | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View. If that was to be the case, he would have already proven himself a genuine title contender at this point of his career. He would have finished Tony Ferguson. He wouldn’t have needed to rely on the judges’ scorecards to claim a controversial win over Jared Gordon. And yet, while Pimblett’s career arc doesn’t necessarily mirror that of the Irish UFC superstar, there is something to be said about his larger-than-life personality. Put simply, he cuts through. Whether it is his brash demeanour or the “budget Beatles haircut” as top lightweight contender Arman Tsarukyan recently put it, the potential is there for Pimblett to be one of the UFC’s biggest and most recognisable names. Since putting himself on the map in September 2021 with a first-round knockout of Luigi Vendramini in his debut, Pimblett has both delighted and divided the UFC world. There is one thing he hasn’t done: lose. And yet, entering Sunday’s fight against Michael Chandler, there is a sense that the 30-year-old Englishman still has plenty to prove before anyone takes him seriously in the UFC’s lightweight division. Volk caught between heated war of words! | 02:10 Although ask Pimblett and he will tell you that no matter what he does in this weekend’s co-main event, it won’t be good enough. Not that that is anything new. Because since he was 16 years old and competing on the local amateur scene in Liverpool, Pimblett has been continually written off. “The goalposts always get moved with me,” Pimblett said at UFC 314 media day earlier in the week. “Everyone’s saying now before the fight ‘Chandler’s going to knock him out, Paddy is not good.’ Then once I beat him, it will be, ‘He’s 2-4 in the UFC, he’s 38, he’s washed.’ “I’m used to it. I get on with it now. I just go out there and prove how good I am by winning.” And winning in this particular fight, against an elite and experienced fighter like Chandler, would go a long way towards proving Pimblett is more than just a big personality and distinctive mop of hair. It seems like an odd thing to say considering unlike Pimblett, who is on a six-fight unbeaten streak in the UFC, Chandler has just one win since 2021. But it is also important to consider the context in which Chandler’s recent skid has taken place, starting with the quality of opposition, having faced Charles Oliveira (twice), Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier – all legitimate title contenders at 155 pounds. MORE UFC 314 CONTENT ‘SAY IT TO MY FACE!’: Drama at the press conference as Volk caught in the middle ‘CUT THE B-S’: The $1m bet and ‘night of terror’ behind record-breaking beast coming for Volk Volk: "Bringing that f***ing belt back" | 00:45 He also spent over a year away from the sport as he waited for a mega fight with McGregor that likely will never eventuate. All of this is to say that Chandler will be equally motivated to have his hand raised on Sunday, and if Pimblett continues to leave his chin exposed as has been the case in previous fights throughout his UFC career, Iron Mike will have no problems putting him to sleep. But if Pimblett is the one who finishes Chandler, he will leave even his biggest critics with no choice but to take him seriously – and the expectation is that the UFC’s matchmakers will follow suit. “A win over Michael Chandler is obviously going to be the biggest win of my career and will propel me into the Top 10,” Pimblett told foxsports.com.au earlier this week. “People are going to stop calling me a prospect and start calling me a contender. That’s the biggest thing about this, beating Michael Chandler, he’s ranked No. 7 in the world and then I’ll be trying to fight someone in the top five and then get a title shot.” In other words, on Sunday Pimblett could fast-track his path towards UFC superstardom. Although that word – superstardom – means so much more for Pimblett than just what he does inside the octagon. It is about giving an even bigger platform to ‘The Baddy Foundation’, the charity Pimblett launched in 2022 to put a spotlight on men’s mental health after losing a friend to suicide shortly before UFC Fight Night 208. MORE UFC 314 CONTENT SHREDDED VOLK: The strict ban behind viral pic of Volk like you’ve never seen him before WHAT DID HE SAY? He left Dana ‘beyond disgusted’ but this outspoken UFC fighter ‘won’t be censored’ Paddy's '15 ways' to take down Chandler | 02:41 A brave Pimblett fought back tears as he shared his story inside the octagon after that win over Jordan Leavitt and still, nearly three moves removed from that moment, the mention of it still triggers a raw response from the 30-year-old. Because while for the most part Pimblett had a near-automatic response to most of the questions thrown his way earlier in the week, he had to take a moment to think – and reflect – when that moving post-fight speech was brought up. “That was a big one when I spoke about mental health,” Pimblett said. “Because I didn’t realise how many people are affected and the amount of people that would reach out to me to say I change their life or it saved someone’s life or stuff like that. “Obviously the higher you’re ranked the more publicity you get so it won’t just help my fighting career but also the other side of things doing work with charities and stuff like that. “People look up to us, which is obviously crazy. I just got into this sport to fight. Now the fact that people look up to me, I’ve got to try set an example – especially for the younger generation.” Volk opens up on why he's still fighting | 01:51 It is that other side of the sport, and other side to Pimblett’s personality which, even if unintentional, make him even more marketable in the UFC. He is vulnerable. He is authentic, and he is human. Which, again, is another thing that separates him from McGregor, whose bravado and tiresome act started to wear down on the credibility he had built for himself inside the octagon. “I’m just me, you know what I mean? I won’t apologise for being myself,” Pimblett said. “It’s as simple as that. I won’t change for no one. I don’t agree with putting on an act. We’re not doing professional wrestling. We’re fighting. It’s real, so you’ve got to be real as you possibly can. “I hate it when people put an act on. I don’t do that. I’m just myself and the fact that people like me for it is great. The fact that some people hate me for it is even funny.” Pimblett does still have an air of confidence to him every time he fights, although the Englishman – once more proving himself to be an open book – admitted he doesn’t even know where it comes from. “In other walks of life doing other things I’m actually not that confident,” he said. “I just think it’s that I believe that much in my abilities and how good I am and no one else does, which is funny because they all underestimate me. “I can’t wait to shut more haters up and prove all the people that have backed me right.” One person Pimblett won’t have to convince is Chandler. Volk teases UFC Gold game plan | 10:14 While he waited two years for McGregor, and Pimblett may not be the name that Conor is or the ranked opponent that he has faced in the past, the American sees the appeal in taking on this fight. He sees the star power in Pimblett, comparing Sunday’s co-main event to the first time Justin Gaethje fought Rafael Fiziev, or when Dustin Poirier took on Benoit Saint Denis. In fact, Chandler later told reporters at media day earlier in the week that it has the makings of “the people’s main event”. “This is a sport. It’s about wins and losses and rankings, but it’s also about being in fights people care about,” he said. “This is a fight people care about. Anytime I step inside the octagon, and Paddy steps inside the octagon, people care. People tune in to watch us lose or hopefully win if they’re a fan of us. We’ve both got that.” What neither has, however, is a UFC title. But Pimblett hopes Sunday’s fight will go a long way towards changing that – towards fulfilling what he has always known all along. “I said from day one that this is what’s going to happen,” he said. “I’m going to be one of the biggest superstars in the sport and I’m going to be a world champion one day.” UFC 314: Volkanovski vs Lopes | SUN 13 APRIL | Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski looks to become a two-time World Champion as he takes on Brazil’s Diego Lopes for the vacant Undisputed Featherweight title, in Miami | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Main Event on Kayo Sports and Foxtel is the exclusive home of UFC Pay-Per-View.