There are some things UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett does very well: fight, eat, and trash talk former two-division champion Ilia Topuria.
With both men coming off of losses and most of the top of the division booked for fights, a showdown between the two rivals could be on the horizon. If the two do get matched up, Pimblett believes he’ll be too much for “El Matador.”
“I respect him. He’s a very good fighter, but he’s never fought anyone like me. You know what I mean? I’m too big and too long for him. And I’ll show him that when I fight him, when I beat him up,” he told All Out Fighting.
Topuria suffered his first career loss in his last outing, losing the lightweight championship to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June. His corner threw in the towel at the end of the fourth round and Pimblett doesn’t think Topuria will ever be the same.
“A little bit damaged goods, but you know, he’s never lost before. So, I don’t think Ilia will ever be the same when he comes back,” Pimblett said. “You know, when I lost my first fight when I was 18 and I had to build myself back up and I had to do it again when I was 22, 23. He’s never lost before and he’s about 27 or something. So his whole aura was unbeatable and this and that. Now he’s been beat. That’s in his head and I’ll prove that if I end up fighting him next.”
Pimblett wanted to be the one to hand Topuria his first L and was disappointed that it wasn’t him. While he didn’t get to end Topuria’s undefeated streak, Pimblett would settle for sending the Georgian back to the 145-pound weight class.
“Yeah, very disappointed that I’m not the one to take his undefeated record, but I’ll be the one to send him back down to featherweight, so it’s good enough,” he said.