Ilia Topuria has set his sights on Paddy Pimblett as his preferred next opponent after his upcoming UFC lightweight title fight against Charles Oliveira. With just two weeks remaining before UFC 317 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Spanish-Georgian fighter is already looking beyond his championship bout.
"Paddy Pimblett is another hypocrite," Topuria told ESPN's Carlos Legaspi in a recent interview. "We once shared a press conference and he said to me, 'I'm fighting in a main event and you're in the preliminaries' or some nonsense like that. Now I wonder: I have two belts, where are you? Who the hell is Paddy Pimblett right now? And why would he deserve to fight me?"
The bad blood between Topuria and Pimblett dates back to a 2022 incident at a Fight Night event in London. Their rivalry has only intensified since then, with Topuria making no secret of his desire to settle scores in the octagon.
"If I could choose a fight, I'd fight him because he's really annoying, honestly, he's a pain in the ass," Topuria declared. "I'd love to give that fight to all the fans because I think UFC hasn't seen a real fight in a long time. Two people who really want to hit each other - what better than doing it in front of everyone and giving them a show. I know what's going to happen and it won't be good for him. What will happen? The same thing that's happened to everyone else."
Interestingly, while Topuria is focused on Pimblett, the UFC has two other potential contenders in mind for the winner of the Topuria-Oliveira fight: Arman Tsarukyan and Justin Gaethje. The latter has even threatened retirement if his next fight isn't for the championship.
By the way, Tsarukyan didn't seem particularly concerned about Gaethje's ultimatum, simply wishing him "a happy retirement" in response.
If Topuria captures the lightweight title on June 28, a matchup with Pimblett could potentially happen later this year. However, the UFC will ultimately decide whether to grant Topuria his wish or pair him with one of the other contenders who have been waiting longer for their title shot.
Will the UFC prioritize the genuine animosity between Topuria and Pimblett over the more established contenders? That's the million-dollar question in the lightweight division right now.
