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Now that former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria punched his way to the lightweight title, who’ll be his next opponent has been a hot button topic.
Should he face No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan? Should he take on No. 4 ranked Justin Gaethje, who says he’ll retire if he doesn’t get title shot. Perhaps he gets the fight that he wants and is matched up against former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Former bantamweight titleholder Sean O’Malley doesn’t think Topuria’s first title defense should be against any of the previously mentioned. “Suga” believes “El Matador” should be pitted against Paddy Pimblett.
“Ilia versus Paddy is the fight to make,” O’Malley said on his YouTube channel. “That’s the fight to make. Simple as that. Ilia versus Paddy 100-percent. That’s the next fight if it’s not going to be Ilia versus Islam.”
Following Topuria’s UFC 317 first-round knockout win over former titleholder Charles Oliveira to capture the 155-pound championship, Pimblett entered the octagon to face-off with the newly crowned champion. After all, the two have history.
Related: Ilia Topuria predicts how ‘easy fight’ with Paddy Pimblett would end
“This is going to be a f**king fantastic press conference, fantastic buildup, and a pretty f**king epic fight,” O’Malley said about a potential bout between Topuria and Pimblett. “That’s the fight to make, Ilia versus Paddy. I’m f**king excited. Let’s make it happen.”
The feud between Topuria and Pimblett dates back years. It began from online comments by Pimblett about Topuria’s countrymen. That led to a physical altercation at the fighter hotel in London during UFC Fight Night 204 fight week in March 2022. The two nearly came to blows at the UFC 282 Press Conference later that year.
Both Pimblett and Topuria want the fight but it’s ultimately up to UFC matchmakers. There’s no question that it’s a fight that would generate public interest and translate to massive revenue for the fight promotion.
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