Pimblett, who is 12th in the UFC lightweight rankings, had called the bout with Chandler the biggest of his career, with the American ranked five places above him in seventh.
Chandler, 38, has built up a big fan base in the UFC with his gung-ho style, while the fanfare surrounding charismatic Pimblett led to the bout being described as the “people’s main event”.
Fans were on their feet at Kaseya Centre as a smiling Pimblett danced towards the octagon, while a focused-looking Chandler walked out purposefully draped in an American flag.
Chandler’s explosiveness was predicted to cause problems for Pimblett but he navigated the contest with aplomb, keeping Chandler at bay with his range and out-working him on the ground.
Pimblett opened with a succession of leg kicks before Chandler secured the first takedown of the fight, but he was unable to take advantage of the position.
With Pimblett’s control of distance causing problems for Chandler, the action went to the ground again in the second round, with the Briton threatening submissions as the crowd roared on the action.
Pimblett was in control of the fight and the defining blow was moments away as he opened a huge cut below Chandler’s left eye with a knee in the third round.
With the American stunned and retreating, Pimblett secured a takedown before working his way to full-mount on the canvas and ending the contest with a flurry of ground strikes.
Pimblett celebrated as he shouted “what now?” into television cameras, before dancing prior to his post-fight interview.
“Everything we’ve worked with my team has just happened here. This is how we win, we gameplan, use our fight IQ and we beat people up. Anyone else got any questions?” said Pimblett.
“I respect Dustin and Justin but Charles is the biggest legend of them all. He gets called the best submission artist the UFC has ever seen but I dispute that – I’m here.”
