Michael Chandler explains why he believes Paddy Pimblett will beat Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 329

Michael Chandler believes Paddy Pimblett will pull off the upset at UFC 329.

Pimblett is set to take on Benoit Saint-Denis in the co-main event of UFC 329 in Las Vegas in a pivotal lightweight fight. Pimblett is coming off an upset loss to Justin Gaethje for the interim belt and is the betting underdog against Saint-Denis.

However, Pimblett’s former opponent in Chandler believes the Brit will beat Saint-Denis, and he shared high praise for his former foe.

“Paddy is better than everybody thinks he is. He showed it in the Justin Gaethje fight. ‘BSD’ brings a fast pace to it, but Paddy is a heck of a competitor. Paddy is mentally tough, we saw that in the Gaethje fight. I think Paddy is more skilled, Paddy has more ways to win. I think Paddy gets the win,” Chandler said to TNT Sports.

If Pimblett does beat Saint-Denis at UFC 329, he would be right back in the title picture at lightweight. If Ilia Topuria beats Justin Gaethje at UFC White House this weekend, the Pimblett-Topuria fight could also finally happen after years of back-and-forth.

Michael Chandler reveals he was supposed to fight Benoit Saint-Denis

As for Chandler, he’s set to return to the Octagon on Sunday at UFC White House against Mauricio Ruffy.

However, Chandler said that wasn’t the original opponent. Instead, he revealed he was originally offered to fight Saint-Denis before the Pimblett fight happened.

“I was actually supposed to fight BSD on this card,” Chandler said. “I asked for him, I told Hunter Campbell, ‘Name a better fight that you can put on the White House than me vs. BSD. He’s a hard-nosed, fast-paced brawler, fought for his country in the military. I’m a red, white, and blue-blooded American, passionate, come forward, get in your face.’ It would have been a chaotic fight. And then obviously we pivoted to Ruffy.”

Chandler will now look to snap his three-fight losing skid on Sunday against Ruffy.

Do you think Paddy Pimblett will beat Mauricio Ruffy?