The UFC rumor mill is spinning, and this time, it’s all about Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett. Former UFC champ Michael Bisping has weighed in, and according to him, this fight is less a question of “if” and more a matter of ‘when.’
Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett – Soon
Ilia Topuria, who’s set to face Charles Oliveira next week for the vacant lightweight UFC title, is already looking past the Brazilian and aiming his verbal jabs at the UK-born Paddy Pimblett. As Bisping put it, “Ilia’s going to fight Charles Oliveira next week for the vacant title, and he’s already got his sights on Paddy Pimblett next, because he is a pain in the ass, he is a prick, he does not like him one little bit.”
The feeling seems mutual. Pimblett has been stirring the pot, calling Topuria “hand sanitizer boy,” tossing water bottles, and generally doing his best to get under Topuria’s skin. And it’s working, Topuria wants to “shut him off” in the Octagon. Bisping, never one to mince words, summed up the UFC’s unique charm: “If people talk, we literally have a forum. You are literally paid life-changing money to go out there and beat the hell out of the guy that is talking crap about you, that is winding you up, that is annoying you to the max.”
Of course, confidence isn’t in short supply on either side. Topuria has made a habit of changing his social media bio to reflect his next conquest, calling out Islam Makhachev, promising to knock out Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski, and then actually doing it. “But if, by one person’s standard, that makes you cocky, arrogant, a pain in the ass, when you’re doing the same thing, sure, granted he’s backed it up every single time. To be fair, so has Paddy Pimblett,” Bisping noted.
Looking ahead, Bisping dismissed the idea that fighters can’t look past their next opponent. “Yes you can if you’re confident. Yes you can if you believe in yourself. Yes you can if you firmly believe that you’re going to go out there and just walk through Oliveira, become the champion of the world. Then, of course, you’re going to look forward and think, ‘Who am I going to fight next? Who is the biggest matchup for me?’” With Islam Makhachev likely tied up with Jack Della Maddalena and Justin Gaethje threatening to walk if he doesn’t get a title shot, Pimblett is the hottest ticket in town.
And why not? Paddy Pimblett remains undefeated in the UFC and just dispatched Michael Chandler in a performance that left little doubt about his credentials. “Paddy Pimblett just beat Michael Chandler, beat him down, made a mockery out of him, beat him to a pulp, and then got the finish,” Bisping recounted. Chandler, after all, was the gatekeeper for title contention, so Pimblett’s case for a title shot is hard to ignore.
With all the trash talk, the backstory, and the UFC’s love for a money fight, Bisping’s advice is clear: “If I’m Paddy Pimblett right now, I ain’t calling out Justin Gaethje, I ain’t calling out anyone, because that fight happens next Saturday, and if he calls him out, it’s going to happen. The UFC is going to make that match-up, especially when Ilia says stuff like this.”
