Paddy Pinblett is wary of “dirty asshole” Michael Chandler

MIAMI – Michael Chandler has been accused of not playing with the rules in the past, and Paddy Pinblett agrees with those claims.

Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) will meet at the UFC 314 (Pay-Per-View, ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event at Kaseya Center on Saturday. Paddy “The Baddy” met Chandler and had a very positive interaction with him. But he’s tired.

“He’s the nicest guy in the world outside the cage. When he gets there, he’s a dirty asshole, right?” Pimblett told reporters, including MMA Junkie, on Wednesday’s UFC 314 Media Day. “If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying to do so, so I understand what he’s going to do. He wants to win. That’s the main thing about this game, but yeah, if he grabs my gloves, if he’s going to say that, I’ll try to stab me that way.”

Recently, when Chandler fought Charles Olivera at UFC 309 in November, the former Bellator champion was accused of hitting Oliveira with intentional eye-opening in the back of his head.

Pinblet hopes that Oliveira Chandler 2 referee Keith Peterson will not handle his game this Saturday.

“When Charles punched him about nine times behind his head, I hope it’s not my judgement. Just put it down,” Pinblett said. “I hope you get a good reference like Goddard and Herzog. I don’t want to have a ref, so I just consistently punched the rabbit behind my head.”

For more information about the card, see the MMA Junkie Event Hub at UFC 314.