​Paddy Pimblett asserts that Ilia Topuria does not belong at lightweight. Topuria, 17-1 overall with 9-1 in the UFC, lost his 155-pound title bid to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June, enduring a fourth-round TKO due to a doctor’s stoppage after a brutal outing. Pimblett, 23-4 overall with 7-1 in the UFC, celebrated Topuria’s first defeat and argues that Topuria lacks the size to compete at 155 pounds. After a dominant stretch at featherweight, Topuria vacated the belt and moved up to lightweight.
“I’ve always said it—weight classes exist for a reason,” Pimblett told Barstool’s Spinnin Backfist. “Ilia Topuria is a fat featherweight. He’s not a lightweight, and if we ever fight, people will see that. If he competes with me, he’ll drop back to ‘45 because he’ll realize how small he is for the weight.”
Gaethje defeated Pimblett to claim the interim belt at UFC 327 in January, then dethroned Topuria in under six months to become the undisputed champion. Pimblett, who is set to face Benoit Saint Denis in the UFC 329 co-headliner on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+), believes his own path to the title has new momentum.
“That gave me motivation,” Pimblett said. “When I saw him win, I started wondering if I’d ever reach the title after Gaethje beat me. I thought Gaethje would win, and everyone laughed at us. But I didn’t understand why people doubted, because he beat me up, and I know I’d beat Ilia Topuria. Justin beat me, so I figured Justin would win.”