Paddy Pimblett thinks Ilia Topuria’s career was completely derailed by Justin Gaethje.
At UFC White House, Gaethje battered Topuria to claim the lightweight title after Topuria’s corner threw in the towel before the fifth round. It’s the first loss of Topuria’s career, and given that much of Topuria’s career has been defined by his brash confidence, fans have already begun to wonder how a loss like this might affect him.
Badly, Pimblett believes.
“Ilia’s never had to come back from adversity,” Pimblett
told Demetrious Johnson on their YouTube channels. “Ilia’s only ever been the hammer. He’s never been the nail. After that fight with Justin that I had, I knew that I could come back stronger and better because I’ve done it before. I don’t think Ilia Topuria ever comes back the same.
“His whole mindset, his whole ego is like, ‘I’m undefeated. No one can beat me.’ Having celebrations the night before the fight. I just don’t think he’ll ever be the same. He’s never had to come back from something like that. I’ve had to face adversity before. So I’d happily be his first fight back.”
Pimblett has a long and acrimonious history with Topuria, as the two have beefed for years, though they’ve never actually fought. Pimblett has, however, faced Gaethje, losing a decision in January for the interim lightweight title. Pimblett already dunked on Topuria for not doing as well as he did against Gaethje, and now Pimblett questions how Topuria will handle the first loss of his career.
“Nothing can prepare you for it, that’s the thing,” Pimblett said about losing. “And that’s why I don’t think he’ll ever come back the same. Nothing can prepare you for it. But we’ll find out what sort of man he is, if he does come back, and when he does come back.
“Because, as I said, I’ve been there before. I’ve been beat. And I’ve had to come back stronger every time, and I have done. He’s never been beat. He’s never had to do this before. He’s going to have to look at himself in the mirror and say, ‘I’ve just had my head smashed in. I need to come back.’ And you never know, he might not have the cajones to do it.”
Given the extensive damage he suffered in the fight, Topuria is unlikely to compete again in 2026, though he has promised to return better than before. But for Pimblett, it’s a matter of mental toughness that he believes Topuria lacks.
“But what Justin said before, I think, was perfect,” Pimblett said. “He basically said, ‘Your head’s gonna fall off when it gets to the second round, when it gets to the third, when it gets to the fourth.’ And Ilia’s like, ‘It’s not gonna go past the first.’ So when it goes past the first and then past the second, it’s in Ilia’s head already. ‘Oh my god, he’s right!’ I don’t think Ilia’s as mentally tough as he thinks he is. That’s why I always said I’d beat him, and I still know to this day I’d beat him. That proves it to me even more that I’d beat him.”
A theoretical matchup between Pimblett and Topuria has been talked about for years, with the two even doing an in-cage face-off after Topuria won the lightweight title last year. Now, a fight between the two would no longer be for UFC gold, but it’s still a matchup Pimblett believes favors him.
“He’s a featherweight. That’s why we have weight classes,” Pimblett said. “We have weight classes for a reason. And that’s something I’ve always said when people have said, ‘Ilia will knock you out.’ No. He’s a fat featherweight. He thinks he’s a lightweight. He’s not a lightweight, lad. I’m a lightweight. He’s a fat featherweight, and I would take his punches all day and laugh in his face, and punch him in the face, and he’d know about it.”
First things first, though, Pimblett has his own business to attend to as “The Baddy” takes on Benoit Saint Denis in the co-main event of UFC 329 next month.
