Dan Hooker Predicts Paddy Pimblett's Title Shot Against Justin Gaethje

Dan Hooker has seen enough of how the UFC does business to make a bold prediction: Paddy Pimblett, not the division’s grinders, will be next in line for Justin Gaethje’s lightweight crown.

The veteran New Zealander believes the promotion is already steering the Scouser straight back toward a title shot – and a rematch with the man who derailed him.

From “future champ” to revenge mission

Back in January at UFC 324, Pimblett walked into the main event as the favorite against Gaethje. The narrative felt pre-written: the surging star, the promotional darling, taking out the human highlight reel to grab interim gold and book a unification clash with Ilia Topuria.

Gaethje tore that script up.

He outworked Pimblett over five rounds, claimed a unanimous decision, and left with the interim belt and a date with then-champion Topuria. Pimblett, beaten in a fight he was “supposed” to win, suddenly looked like a project put on hold.

Gaethje didn’t stop there. At UFC Freedom 250 he stunned Topuria, ripping away the undisputed lightweight title with a performance that flipped the odds and the division on its head. The veteran brawler became the king at 155 lbs.

Pimblett answered his own questions at UFC 329. Under pressure to prove he belonged among the elite, he produced the kind of moment the UFC loves to replay: a stunning submission of Benoit Saint Denis that shoved him straight back into the conversation.

Momentum, just like that, swung again.

Hooker: “They’re just sliding Paddy into a title fight”

Speaking to Submission Radio, Hooker didn’t dance around what he thinks happens next.

“He’s the champ, he can do whatever the (expletive) he wants… Some champs can’t, but Justin Gaethje can… For sure they’re just sliding Paddy Pimblett into a title fight, that’s probably what they’re gonna do,” Hooker said.

No caveats. No careful phrasing. In Hooker’s eyes, star power plus a willing champion equals a fast track.

And the uncomfortable truth for purists? He might be right.

Pimblett remains one of the biggest names in the lightweight division, a promotional engine all by himself. The UFC has spent years nudging him toward the belt, building him through favorable matchups, high-profile slots, and relentless marketing. A revenge storyline against Gaethje, this time with the undisputed title on the line, practically sells itself.

The first fight was billed as Pimblett’s coronation. Instead, it became Gaethje’s resurgence. A rematch now offers the UFC something even more valuable: redemption versus validation, a clean narrative with clear stakes.

Merit vs. marketability

Strip away the noise and the rankings tell a different story.

On merit, the winner of the UFC 331 co-main event between Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy should be front of the queue. Both represent the kind of hungry, technical contenders who usually have to slog through the division before even hearing the word “title.”

If that path somehow closes, a rematch with Charles Oliveira – who has quietly put together two straight wins – makes far more sense in sporting terms. Oliveira is a former champion, a proven finisher, and a name etched into the recent history of the division.

Those are the matchups that satisfy the purists. They just don’t always move the needle like a Pimblett title shot.

And that’s the tension Hooker is pointing at. The UFC has never hidden its preference for fighters who can headline cards, sell pay-per-views, and command attention. Pimblett ticks every commercial box the company cares about.

So when a veteran like Hooker shrugs and says the promotion will “just slide” him into a title fight, it doesn’t sound outlandish. It sounds like a man who has watched this movie before.

The question now is simple: does the belt go to the most deserving contender, or to the loudest attraction the company can find?