Number six ranked UFC lightweight Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett has said he wants to settle his personal beef with two-division champ Ilia Topuria.
The pair have been involved in three years of back-and-forth online.
Pimblett catalysed a title shot in June this year during UFC 317.
He confronted Topuria in the octagon after the Georgian retained the lightweight championship in a brutal first round knock-out against former champion Charles ‘Do Bronx’ Oliveira.
Pimblett told TNT Sports: “He’s just a [Conor] McGregor copycat and I’m getting sick of him. He’s a German, he’s not even Spanish or Georgian, he was born in Germany so he’s a German.”
Both fighters are unbeaten in their UFC career, with Ilia Topuria already being spearheaded to be one of the greatest ever after becoming a two-division champion and steam-rolling other greats such as Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and most recently Charles Oliveira, all before turning 29.
Pimblett’s last three fights, although technical clinics by The Baddy, were against UFC ‘veterans’, with each fighter being over the age of 38 at the time of their fights.
Some online critics believe that Pimblett is underserving of a title fight this early on in his UFC career, with talks of him needing one more contender fight before he can finally get his hands on Topuria.
Although the media have mixed opinions on the Englishman’s credibility, his team at Next Generation MMA in Liverpool believe that he is equipped with the skills to do the job, when the time comes.
Next Generation MMA resident Robin Hignett said: “Next Gen will put together a great game plan, for Paddy [Pimblett] to follow… he’s a lot bigger than Ilia, so he will likely use his low kicks to chop him down and stay out the pocket, as we all know about the power Ilia has in his hands.”
If Topuria’s next opponent is based on the UFC lightweight rankings, Justin Gaethje, who is ranked fifth, is believed to be the front runner for Topuria’s comeback bout.
But Pimblett, will be hoping his three-year feud with Topuria generates more fan interest, hopefully leapfrogging Gaethje to his first chance at UFC gold.
Topuria is scheduled to make his third lightweight title defence in January 2026 with him being the first fighter to top a UFC card under the new Paramount+ deal.
UFC boss Dana White said that the fight is not official, as they are still exploring potential options.
But the CEO recognises that magnitude of the fight and has not completely shut down the possibility of it being the next UFC lightweight championship bout.
