No one watched Ilia Topuria’s win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 more closely than Paddy Pimblett and his team.
Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) cemented his status as a legitimate contender at 155 pounds with a dominant performance over Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April. After finishing the former Bellator champion in the third round, the Liverpool native has been building his case to be next in line for a shot at the lightweight title.
Topuria’s victory over Oliveira last Saturday may have bolstered Pimblett’s position, given the intense rivalry between the two that dates back to an altercation prior to UFC London in 2022. Speaking with Submission Radio this week, Pimblett’s coach Paul Rimmer revealed that the team has already picked up some valuable insights in preparation for a potential clash between “The Baddy” and the new UFC lightweight champion.
“Charles (Oliveira) is a great one for us because he shows you kind of what not to do in a lot of fights,” Rimmer said. “So, like I say, (before) the Chandler fight, we watched Charles fight Chandler and then we used a load of stuff that Charles didn't do in that fight that he should have done and used that to make up the victory in the last one. So we just watched Charles fight Ilia now and there's a lot of stuff you can see in the fight that you shouldn't do against Ilia. So, like I say, we learn constantly.”
Topuria’s win last weekend made him the tenth fighter in UFC history to claim championship titles in two different weight classes—and the first to do so while remaining undefeated. He took over the vacant 155-pound title after Islam Makhachev opted to move up and challenge for the welterweight belt.
As fans continue to debate whether Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) or Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) is currently the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, Pimblett’s coach Paul Rimmer shared which of the two he believes would be the bigger challenge for his fighter.
“I'd be more concerned for the Islam fight, to be honest with you,” Rimmer said. “You know what I mean? Islam, for me, is the guy in the division, the undefeated guy in the division. His experience in the division, to be honest with you, fighting a lot more lightweights, I would say. He is undeniably the best lightweight in the world, Islam.”
