Paddy Pimblett doesn’t expect that Ilia Topuria will be the same fighter whenever he does finally return to the UFC.
Boasting a perfect 17-0 record coming into the year, Topuria suffered a massive upset at the hands of Justin Gaethje when the two men headlined UFC Freedom 250 at The White House in June.
Along with losing his unbeaten record, “El Matador” also relinquished the UFC lightweight belt that he claimed last year following a successful reign as the promotion’s featherweight champion.
When Will Ilia Topuria Make His Return to the UFC?
The damage Gaethje caused at The White House encouraged Ilia’s brother Aleksandre to call the fight off in between rounds four and five, and Topuria largely disappeared from the public eye for an extended period following his first loss.
The 29-year-old recently returned to training and appears to be gearing up for a return sometime in early 2027, and this week top lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett reiterated his desire to welcome Topuria back to the Octagon.
“I respect him, he’s a very good fighter,” Pimblett told Fighters Only. “But, he’s never fought anyone like me, 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.”
Paddy Pimblett Questions How Ilia Topuria Will Handle First Career Loss
The two UFC stars had a viral in-cage face off at UFC 317 after Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight belt, and Pimblett went on to speculate that “El Matador” may not be the same fighter following his loss to Gaethje.
“[He’s] a little bit damaged goods. He’s never lost before, so I don’t think Ilia will ever be the same when he comes back. I lost my first fight when I was 18, and I had to build myself back up. And then I had to do it again when I was 22, 23. He’s never lost before…So his whole aura was unbeatable, ‘I’m this, I’m that.’ Now he’s been beat, that’s in his head. And I’ll prove that if I end up fighting him next.”
Following an 8-0 start to his professional MMA career that saw him finish ever opponent he faced, Topuria joined the UFC in 2020 and went 9-0 (with six wins via stoppage) before running into Gaethje in June.
Should the UFC Book Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett?
The bad blood between Topuria and Pimblett makes a potential fight between the two men one of the more intriguing options for the UFC heading into 2027, especially given how “The Baddy” rebounded from his own loss to Gaethje his last time out.
A former Cage Warriors titleholder, Pimblett made a long-awaited move to the UFC in 2021 and stopped his first three opponents to win three-straight “Performance of the Night” bonuses.
The 31-year-old ended up going 7-0 to start his UFC career before he lost to Gaethje in an interim lightweight title bout at UFC 324, but “The Baddy” returned to the win column in July at UFC 329 when he submitted top lightweight contender Benoit Saint-Denis in just 52 seconds.
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