The Spanish-Georgian Ilia Topuria has doubled down; he wants Paddy Pimblett next. Ilia Topuria made history at UFC 317, held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on June 29, 2025, by knocking out former champion Charles Oliveira in the main event to claim the vacant UFC lightweight title. Topuria needed just 2 minutes and 27 seconds of the first round to finish Oliveira, connecting with a sharp right hand and a devastating left hook that left Oliveira unconscious on the canvas. The victory made Topuria a two-division champion, having previously held the featherweight belt, and he remains undefeated with a 17-0 professional record.
Ilia Topuria Wants Paddy Pimblett
Immediately after his win, Ilia Topuria called out Paddy Pimblett, who was present in the audience. Pimblett entered the octagon, leading to a heated face-off that reignited a long-simmering rivalry between the two fighters. Topuria pushed Pimblett away during the confrontation, and both men exchanged words, much to the excitement of the sold-out crowd of 19,800 fans.
Speaking to the UFC in a recent interview, ‘El Matador’ explained his callout of Paddy Pimblett, Ilia Topuria said:
“With Paddy, it will be much better. I prefer to fight guys that I really want to fight. I already have a nickname for him—he’s a pimple! With Paddy, I really would enjoy punching him in the face. I know I can do with him whatever I want to do—even tell me, ‘God, tell me what you want me to do with you.’ I’m going to do whatever I want to do. I don’t want to use bad words, but yeah, that’s the guy I want to fight next!”
The animosity between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett dates back several years, with the roots of their feud traced to comments made by Pimblett about the Russo-Georgian War during a UFC event in London, which deeply offended Topuria, who is of Georgian descent. The two nearly came to blows at a hotel during that fight week, and the rivalry has since been fueled by exchanges on social media and in interviews.
Paddy Pimblett, a former Cage Warriors champion who joined the UFC in 2021, is ranked No. 8 at lightweight and has quickly become one of the most popular fighters in the promotion due to his charisma and fighting style. Topuria, meanwhile, has solidified his reputation as one of the sport’s elite with a string of knockout victories over former champions Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and now Charles Oliveira.
UFC 317 was one of the most anticipated events of 2025, featuring two championship bouts and setting new records for attendance and live gate, with 19,800 fans and over $11 million in ticket sales. Topuria’s knockout of Oliveira was a defining moment, as Oliveira had never been finished in such fashion before.
Despite the clear desire from both Topuria and Pimblett to fight each other, UFC CEO Dana White expressed dissatisfaction with the post-fight face-off, stating it was “a bad call by whoever let him in there” and that Topuria’s family was in the octagon at the time. White did not confirm Pimblett as Topuria’s next opponent, leaving the matchup uncertain for now.
However, both fighters have made it clear they want the fight, and the rivalry is widely seen as one of the most compelling in the sport, with Pimblett likening it to the historic feud between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
