Paddy Pimblett Reveals His Stance on Rumored Ilia Topuria Grudge Fight
· Yahoo Sports
It has only been a few days since Ilia Topuria finally broke his silence, nearly three months after suffering the first defeat of his MMA career at UFC Freedom 250. The former double champion was thoroughly beaten by Justin Gaethje and ultimately had to quit on his stool at the end of the fourth round.
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Topuria left the fight with some serious injuries, including double orbital bone fractures and multiple cuts across his face. While the former champion has since addressed the loss with humility in a nine-part essay on his website, his confidence heading into the fight made him an easy target for post-fight criticism.
Fighters including Paddy Pimblett and Arman Tsarukyan were among those who took shots at the Spaniard following his first career loss. Pimblett even trolled Topuria by seemingly buying the red corner stool used during the June 14 event for nearly $14,000.
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The claim eventually turned out to be false, but “The Baddy” has continued to insist that Topuria will never be the same after suffering his first defeat. Now, with rumors swirling that Topuria could make his UFC return against Pimblett, the Liverpudlian has addressed the possibility in typical fashion.
Pimblett was in attendance at Katie Taylor’s retirement fight at Croke Park in Dublin this past Saturday, where he came out to support boxing legend Taylor as well as his close friend Molly McCann, who defeated Sylwia Doligala on the preliminary card.
During the event, Pimblett spoke to Eze Talks Sports, who asked whether he was still interested in settling the score with Topuria. He said, “I’d love to smash his head in, lad, but we’ll need to wait and see.”
Pimblett made it clear that nothing has been finalized yet, but he would certainly welcome the opportunity to share the Octagon with Topuria. He added, “Nothing yet. No one’s spoke to me about it, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Englishman is coming off an impressive 52-second submission victory over Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 329 and is now just one big win away from putting himself firmly in title contention.
Justin Gaethje, meanwhile, plans to sit out the remainder of 2026 while waiting for a shot at the next title opportunity. That leaves Arman Tsarukyan and Mauricio Ruffy set to face off at UFC 331 in what could potentially serve as a lightweight title eliminator.
If Topuria isn’t the next name across from him, Pimblett is hoping to land another top-five opponent and work his way toward another title opportunity. He also has his sights set on returning before the end of the year.
He said, “Arman, Gaethje, Ruffy, Charles. There are loads of names. When I get told who I’m fighting, I’m sure everyone else will know. If I fight again this year, it’ll be in December, hopefully. But we’ll see what happens.”
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“The Baddy” started his 2026 campaign on a disappointing note, suffering a loss to Gaethje at UFC 324 in an interim lightweight title fight. However, he bounced back in a big way at UFC 329, needing just 52 seconds to submit Saint Denis with a Peruvian necktie.
That victory allowed Pimblett to hold onto his top-10 spot in the rankings and put him right back in the mix for another marquee matchup. Whether that matchup ends up being Topuria remains to be seen. But with several major names circling the lightweight division, the 155-pound weight class is quickly becoming one of the most interesting divisions in the UFC.