Paddy Pimblett is ready and willing to welcome Ilia Topuria back to action, but will the UFC give him the opportunity?
That’s the big question coming into the end of 2026. At the start of the year, a Pimbett vs. Topuria fight seemed a million miles away. Paddy had just lost via decision to Justin Gaethje, while Topuria seemed unbeatable. Then Gaethje whooped Topuria on the While House lawn and Pimblett submitted Benoit Saint Denis in under a minute. Now a fight between “El Matador” and “The Baddy”
is interesting.
“I’d love to smash his head in, lad, but we’ll need to wait and see,” Pimblett told Eze Obas over the weekend. Asked if there’d been any official talks, he said, “Nothing yet. No one’s spoke to me about it so we’ll see what happens.”
There’s growing chatter that the UFC is thinking about throwing Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria right back together for an immediate rematch, which makes dollars if not sense. If so, Paddy’s not picky.
“Arman [Tsarukyan], [Justin] Gaethje, [Mauricio] Ruffy, Charles [Oliveira]. There’s loads of names,” Pimblett said about other opponents. “When I get told who I’m fighting, I’m sure everyone else will know.”
With his impressive weight gain between fights, Pimblett isn’t one for short notice turnarounds. But he did share a potential timeline for return.
“If I fight again this year it’ll be in December, hopefully,” he said. “But we’ll see what happens.”
