The ending of UFC 317 has set up a huge lightweight title fight that could be one of the biggest matchups in recent years.
Following his remarkable win this past weekend, lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is expected to accomplish even more incredible things in his career.
Topuria may have spoken about the idea of fighting at welterweight but it looks like, for the time being at least, he’s sticking around at 155-pounds.
‘El Matador’ even shared a face-off inside the Octagon with the man that appears to be his first title challenger after he won the vacant belt on June 28.
Topuria’s career has been closely linked with Paddy Pimblett’s after their paths initially crossed several years ago before both men became two of the sport’s biggest stars.
Paddy Pimblett says his feud with Ilia Topuria helped his rival to earn a UFC title shot
During a recent appearance on Eric Nicksick’s Verse Us podcast, Paddy Pimblett spoke about his ongoing rivalry with Ilia Topuria which will result in one of the biggest fights of the year.
The tension between the two men initially developed following a confrontation that they had in London before competing on the UFC Fight Night event in March of 2022.
They both secured wins on that night but despite Topuria calling Pimblett out following his stunning knockout victory over Jai Herbert, nothing came of it.
This fight saw ‘El Matador’ briefly move up to lightweight before he returned to the featherweight division where he had accumulated three consecutive wins inside the Octagon.
Following his feud with Pimblett, Topuria would win two more fights at 145 pounds before challenging Alexander Volkanovski for the title at UFC 298.
‘The Baddy’ recently claimed that in his opinion, if it wasn’t for their public beef, Topuria wouldn’t have climbed the ladder this quickly because he wasn’t a big name before this.
“Ilia was a nobody and I was a somebody. So, he wanted to become a somebody off my name. I still say to this day, he wouldn’t have got a title shot that fast if it wasn’t for me and him having beef. No one knew who he was, he’s just a [Conor] McGregor clone.”
Paddy Pimblett names his preferred location and time frame for Ilia Topuria clash
The UFC recently announced that on October 25, the Octagon will return to Abu Dhabi for UFC 321.
Paddy Pimblett said during his recent podcast appearance that this would’ve been his preferred location and time frame for his lightweight title fight with Ilia Topuria.
However, after recently dismissing rumors that he is fighting Justin Gaethje in August, ‘The Baddy’ is prepared to wait for whenever his rival, or the UFC, are ready to go.
“I wanted to fight in Abu Dhabi but he won’t do a quick turnaround like that, which I understand. You’ve just done a fight camp, you’ve just fought and won the belt, you want to be happy for a little bit and not get back on the diet. But as I say, I’m game to fight him then. I’m game to fight him before the end of the year, I’m game to fight him next year. But, we’ll see what happens.”