Dustin Poirier: 'Legit' Paddy Pimblett Can Be UFC Champion

👀🏆Dustin Poirier says Paddy Pimblett can be a UFC champion:

“Paddy’s legit, man."🤝

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— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 28, 2025

Dustin Poirier’s opinion of Paddy Pimblett has changed recently.

Pimblett scored the biggest win of his career so far by finishing Michael Chandler at UFC 314 earlier this month. Ahead of the fight, Poirier predicted that former foe Chandler would beat “The Baddy” and suggested bettors to go heavy.

Poirier was admittedly surprised as Pimblett completely outclassed “Iron” en route to a third round technical knockout. “The Diamond” believes Pimblett can be a UFC champ one day if he continues on his current path.

“Of course [I was surprised]. I really thought Chandler was gonna beat [Pimblett],” Chandler told Ariel Helwani. “But I was wrong. Paddy’s legit, man… Yeah, if he believes it and works hard enough and keeps doing what he’s doing, he can be [champion].”

Pimblett is unbeaten in seven UFC outings with five finishes and is steadily improving his game. Meanwhile, Chandler is known for his entertaining style but is 2-5 in the UFC, albeit against top-tier competition.

Poirier submitted Chandler at UFC 281 in 2022. The Louisiana native has since sandwiched a win over Benoit St. Denis between losses against Justin Gaethje and Islam Makhachev. Poirier is now set for his retirement fight – a trilogy bout against Max Holloway at UFC 2018 on July 19 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.