'I'd submit Dustin Poirier': Paddy Pimblett downplays Islam Makhachev's win

Paddy Pimblett has explained why UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev doesn’t deserve Submission of the Year.

Makhachev notched his third title defense when he beat Dustin Poirier with a fifth-round D’Arce choke at UFC 302 in June. Pimblett’s most recent win also came by submission when he became the first fighter to submit King Green in the octagon at UFC 304 in July.

With Poirier’s loss to Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) being the fourth time he was submitted in his career, Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) doesn’t see it as that special of a feat.

“Obviously Islam’s sub was good, but it’s just a D’Arce choke,” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. “I transitioned from a guillotine to a triangle to an armbar, from the feet. Still think Khamzat’s sub was better. Khamzat against Robert Whittaker was a better submission. No one’s done that to Robert Whittaker. Poirier’s been submitted multiple times before. I’d submit Dustin Poirier. No one submitted Bobby Green in like f*cking 12 years or whatever it was.”

For Pimblett, Khamzat Chimaev crushing former champion Robert Whittaker’s jaw for a first-round face crank at UFC 308 is his top submission of 2024.

After submitting Green this past July, Pimblett debuted in the UFC’s lightweight rankings. “The Baddy” teased his upcoming fight by using Michael Chandler’s famous “see you at the top” quote.