“He’s the nicest man in the world outside the cage. Then when he gets in, he’s a dirty b*****d, isn’t he? I always say if you’re cheating, you’re not trying.” Paddy Pimblett said about Michael Chandler before his TKO victory in Round 3 at UFC 314. Pimblett didn’t seem concerned about Chandler cheating. In fact, it looked like he knew what he was signing up for. And sure enough, true to what Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira warned—’Iron’ Mike did the unthinkable. Four shots to the back of the head in round 1, and a groin strike in round 2. Michael Chandler pulling dirty moves (intentional or in the heat of the moment) was literally one of the big talking points of this matchup.
“Yeah, those things are going to happen.”, said Michael Chandler about the accusations from ‘The Diamond’ about the fish-hooking, and blowing blood-drenched snot on him. And with regard to Oliveira? He re-directed the blame to ‘Do Bronx’, claiming that Oliveira had “dug his chin so deep” into his eye socket, he thought he’d go blind. Heat of the moment, right? Well, lightweight star Beneil Dariush doesn’t think so.
Submission Radio’s Denis Shukratov spoke to #9 lightweight star Beneil Dariush and asked about this groin kick, “What about when he punted Pimblett right in the di—? Did you see that? That was at him straight in the di-“ The lightweight star replied, “Man, it was strategic, he just figured you know he’s gotta chop him down. I don’t know, I think he was aiming for the head. He managed the distance, and he hit the wrong head.”
‘The Baddy’ thinks ‘Iron’ Mike did the dirty to buy more time to delay the inevitable. While speaking to the reporters after the fight, Paddy Pimblett said, “He hit me with about four punches in the back of the head in the first round. You know what I mean? You never know. He might have kicked me [in the groin] on purpose because he needed a little break.”
But the inevitable happened, and a picture-perfect knee in round 3 set up the finishing sequence. But, no hard feeling from ‘The Baddy’ as he decided to visit Chandler backstage after the fight. The brutal flying knee to Chandler’s face had his cheek sustain a gash with a lot of blood oozing out. He was rushed backstage immediately after the fight as Pimblett became busy with the in-cage interview. And the duo did share a wholesome moment behind the scenes.
Paddy Pimblett shared a friendly moment with Chandler
Once they got backstage, before he had to engage in media interviews, Pimblett tried to seek out his opponent and share a moment behind the scenes. He told Full Send MMA about the short meet in an interview, saying: “I’ve just seen him.” He continued to praise his opponent and said, “I wanted to go in and say thank you for taking the fight. I respect the hell out of him, he came into the UFC a bit older and every time he’s stepped up to the plate and he’s had a scrap, he’s done it with me there.”
Pimblett acknowledged that when he was the #12 fighter, most of the other combatants did not want to take a fight with him. However, #7 Chandler decided to risk his spot on the ranking for an entertaining showdown. Now that the Scouser has achieved a top 10 rank, he wants to fight an elite from the lightweight category. He did not waste any time taking the names of fighters like Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Arman Tsarukyan.
Meanwhile, he also said that he was ready for a title fight against Islam Makhachev. “I want that world title,” he said without delay during his post-fight interview. Who do you think Dana White is going to select for Pimblett? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The post Beneil Dariush Exposes Michael Chandler For ‘Strategic’ Foul on Paddy Pimblett in UFC 314 Fight appeared first on EssentiallySports.
