UFC lightweight veteran Dustin Poirier has an idea in mind for Paddy Pimblett's next test inside the Octagon.
Pimblett continued his charge up the 155-pound ladder at this past weekend's UFC 314 pay-per-view, which he co-headlined against Michael Chandler inside Miami's Kaseya Center.
"The Baddy" made a statement by laying a devastating beating on "Iron Mike" in the third round to secure a TKO stoppage, extending his undefeated UFC record in the process.
During a recent interview with MMA Junkie's Mike Bohn, Poirier praised Paddy Pimblett's performance in "The Magic City" and pondered what could come next for him in the stacked lightweight division.
He’s legit," Poirier said. "How can I deny him any more? Chandler’s a tough guy. I don’t think Chandler looked great. ... I definitely think Chandler didn’t look great, but not taking away from Paddy’s performance. 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.
The guy was a prospect. Now he’s a contender," Poirier continued. "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. ... 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.
Dan Hooker is coming off a split decision victory over Mateusz Gamrot in Australia last September. He was scheduled to battle Justin Gaethje at UFC 313 last month but had to withdraw due to injury.