Chael Sonnen suggests top-5 ranked opponent for Paddy Pimblett instead of Renato Moicano

Paddy Pimblett was recently called out by number 13-ranked lightweight contender Renato Moicano, who claimed to be 'The Baddy's' potential ticket to the UFC's official rankings. However, Chael Sonnen suggests that Pimblett should take on former title challenger Justin Gaethje instead of Moicano.

According to Sonnen, Pimblett vs. Gaethje is a "highly possible" matchup that no one is talking about because they believe the UFC won't buy it. 'The American Gangster' suggested that 'The Baddy' should take on a bigger name if he's going to be risking a loss anyway. The 45-year-old said on his YouTube channel:

"If you're going to take a step and the step is as big as Moicano, if you're going to slip quite possibly, let's slip on something that seems a little bit more glamorous. And that's where I would insert Justin Gaethje. I'm not ready to let go of that idea. Paddy the Baddy vs. Justin Gaethje is a highly possible fight. I think that Justin would really like that fight. I don't think that Paddy would care."

Watch Sonnen's comments below (7:20):

Moicano recently bounced back from a decision loss to Rafael dos Anjos with a first-round submission win over Brad Riddell at UFC 281 in November. The 33-year-old is trying to lure Paddy Pimblett to a March clash at UFC 286 in London.

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Justin Gaethje slams Paddy Pimblett's UFC 282 FOTN claim

Justin Gaethje was present cageside during Paddy Pimblett's UFC 282 clash against Jared Gordon. 'The Baddy' edged out a highly controversial unanimous decision win after three rounds of back-and-forth action.

Pimblett hailed his bout as the Fight of the Night and the Liverpudlian's sentiments were echoed by his colleagues from Barstool Sports. Gaethje believes it was a poor showing from Barstool Sports to blindly support 'The Baddy'.

'The Highlight' claims that the Liverpudlian's performance at UFC 282 would never earn a UFC bonus. Gaethje wrote on Twitter:

"This makes the barstool guys look really bad. Just bending over for the lad. Fight of the night? Barstool can give him 50k but that performance will never get you a bonus in the octagon."