Chael Sonnen picks Paddy Pimblett over Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev, and Alex Pereira as UFC’s next breakout star

Chael Sonnen has picked surging UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett as the next big star of the UFC. Pimblett most recently TKO'd Michael Chandler in Round 3 of the co-main event at UFC 314.

'The Baddy' is unbeaten in the UFC and boasts wins over Tony Ferguson and King Green, among others. The Brit hopes to fight for lightweight gold in 2026, and before that, plans on fighting a top-155-pounder. Pimblett has called out Charles Oliveira, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje.

Sonnen believes Pimblett to be "the next big star" as the latter has a large following in Britain and even in Florida, and never fails to amuse fans inside and outside the octagon. In a recent clip, Sonnen said:

"You wanna talk about who's the next big star—is it Ilia, Islam, Pereira? To have audience interaction is a nearly impossible thing to do. That is something that Michael Jackson could do. That is something that The Rock could do. When Paddy is doing his thing, the audience is singing his god-awful song out loud. He had plenty of British fans, but he got fans right there in Florida to do it."

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Check out Chael Sonnen's comments about Paddy Pimblett below:

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Arman Tsarukyan wants to fight Paddy Pimblett

Arman Tsarukyan was scheduled to fight lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 311. However, Tsarukyan withdrew in the eleventh hour because of a back injury. Tsarukyan's decision to withdraw from the bout infuriated Pimblett, who called him a "little posh boy."

In a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, Tsarukyan, despite the bad blood, praised Pimblett’s recent performance against Michael Chandler. 'Ahalkalakets' thinks Pimblett is a big name in the UFC and expressed interest in fighting him.

"Yeah, I'll take that. I'll take that because he has a big name. He just beat Michael Chandler, and he has a six or seven-win streak. He's never lost in the UFC, so it makes sense to get back and get more fans from the U.K."

Check out Arman Tsarukyan's comments about Paddy Pimblett below:

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Subham is a dynamic writer and editor at Sportskeeda, with a background in Health and Fitness, MMA, True-Crime, and Pop Culture.
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