Paddy Pimblett recently explained why he’d prefer a rematch against Justin Gaethje over an Ilia Topuria grudge match next.
Pimblett faced Gaethje at UFC 324 in January in an interim lightweight title fight. After five rounds of action, ‘The Highlight’ beat Pimblett via unanimous decision and later beat Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 in June to become the undisputed 155-pound king.
Given that there’s no love lost between Pimblett and Topuria, one would expect the Liverpudlian to pursue a fight against the Georgian-born Spanish fighter. However, Pimblett recently made it clear that he’s chasing the championship and would prefer a title rematch against Gaethje.
In a video for MMA Pros Pick, Pimblett explained his stance on the matter and said:
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“I’d take a rematch with Justin before Ilia because I want to be a world champion. I hate Ilia, don’t get me wrong… Obviously, I’d rather beat Ilia than Justin, but Justin has the belt, and that’s what we do it for, to be recognized as the best in the world, to be the undisputed champion.”
Paddy Pimblett takes credit for Ilia Topuria’s mercurial rise in the UFC
Paddy Pimblett recently claimed that he had something to do with Ilia Topuria becoming a superstar in the UFC and the MMA world.
In an interview with All Out Fighting, the Liverpudlian claimed that his rivalry and infamous altercation with Topuria in 2022 helped him rise to stardom and said:
“I hate him. He got a push because of the stuff with me. He got pushed fast through the rankings because of it. No one knew who he was. I’ve always got that exact bottle of hand sanitizer that I threw at his head… I’ve signed it and now it’s just sat in the gym. So, if I do ever fight him and have a press conference with him, that will be coming with me. And I’ll just sit it on the desk. It’ll be quite funny.”
Edited by Nishant Zende.
