When Ilia Topuria decided earlier this year to vacate the UFC featherweight title and move up to 155 pounds, he had one man in his sights: the lightweight division’s long-reigning champion, Islam Makhachev.
For a time, it seemed that Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) was on the verge of landing a massive superfight against the dominant Dagestani. However, Makhachev’s subsequent decision to move up to the welterweight division appears to have shelved those plans—at least for now.
Topuria’s win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last Saturday earned him the vacant lightweight title and may have opened the door to another high-profile showdown: a potential clash with his longtime rival, Paddy Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC).
“With Paddy, all the fans around the world, I think that they want to see that fight,” Topuria said this week during an interview with TMZ. “At the same time, I have to be honest, I think it's one of the easiest fights that I could have in the lightweight division. I don't know…I can do with him whatever I want to do in reality.
“It's a very exciting fight for the fans. I'm going to enjoy a lot the whole process. And at the same time, it's a fight where I'm going to be able to shine once again.”
Topuria is currently on one of the most impressive winning streaks in UFC history. The Spanish-Georgian star has notched three consecutive stoppage victories over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira—and he’s confident that Paddy Pimblett would suffer the same fate if they ever meet inside the Octagon.
“I promise you, I could, like, choose the way I want to finish,” Topuria answered confidently when asked to predict how the fight would go. “He's not going to stay there for more than one round with me. But I don't know. Maybe it's going to be cool to submit him in the ground. With a triangle choke from the mount, something like that. Like as I told him, put my b***s on his forehead.”
