Paddy Pimblett calls for matchup of ‘Europe’s two best lightweights’

Paddy Pimblett is not happy that Benoit St Denis has climbed above him in the rankings by beating Dan Hooker. St. Denis dominated Hooker en route to a technical knockout victory at UFC 3255 last month. The victory moved the Frenchman ahead of Pimblett to fifth place on the official UFC lightweight rankings. The fact that St. Denis overtook Pimblett by beating Hooker has not gone down well with the Liverpudlian. Pimblett is now calling for a match against St. Denis, which he is billing as a match between the two best lightweights in Europe. However, Pimblett is willing to fight anyone the UFC offers, whether it’s Arman Tsarukyan or anyone from the fallout of the upcoming UFC 326 headliner between Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira.

Keep options open

“What pissed me off is that St. Denis got ranked above me because he beat that bum Dan Hooker… St. Denis sounds like a good fight to me,” Pimblett said on YouTube. “The two best lightweights in Europe are going to fight each other. Either we get the winner or the loser of the fight between Max and Charles. Or I fight Arman if they want.”St. Denis (17-3) is 9-3 in the UFC, with all of his wins coming via finishes. “God of War” features a four-fight finishing streak, including wins over Mauricio Ruffy and Beneil Dariush. Saint Denis called Tsarukyan after his victory over Hooker at UFC 325.

Meanwhile, Pimblett (23-4) was undefeated in seven UFC appearances before falling short in a bid for the vacant lightweight title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 last month. “The Baddy” and Hooker share a strong dislike for each other and were recently involved in an ugly feud. Pimblett said ‘The Hangman’ couldn’t wrestle a ‘rapist off his mother’. Hooker responded by bringing up Pimblett’s friend Ricky, who committed suicide.