Paddy Pimblett believes the results at UFC 322 may have cooled Ilia Topuria’s chances of facing Islam Makhachev anytime soon.
On Saturday at Madison Square Garden, Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) dominated Jack Della Maddalena in the main event, while Michael Morales (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Carlos Prates (23-7 MMA, 6-1 UFC) scored impressive knockout wins over Sean Brady and Leon Edwards, respectively.
With Ian Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) potentially joining the list of contenders if he defeats Belal Muhammad next weekend at UFC Qatar, the line to challenge the new 170-pound champion is growing fast.
Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) feels that “El Matador” may now be pushed further back in the queue, potentially increasing his own chances of securing a shot at Topuria’s lightweight title.
"Ilia's been saying he wants to go up and fight him, but you've got other contenders there now," Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. "Morales, Prates, you've then got Ian (Machado) Garry if he beats Belal (Muhammad) next week. Shavkat (Rakhmonov), as well, who needs to come back – he's been the No. 1 contender for about a year. They're all exciting matchups for Islam.
“The welterweight division at the moment could be becoming more exciting than the lightweight division. I don't think any division has been more exciting than lightweight in more than 10 years. It's good times for the sport.
"Let's see what's happening now with Islam because, is Ilia going to stick to his word and say he's going to move up? Or is he going to stick to his other word and say he's going to fight me next? We don't know what's happening. You never know.
“I could end up fighting Ilia. I could end up fighting Justin Gaethje as I thought it was going to be in Abu Dhabi, but no one knows what's happening until Islam decides what he's doing because Ilia's saying he wants to fight him. But I'll be fighting next year no matter who it is. I'll have an opponent. I'll definitely be fighting early next year."
