Ilia Topuria thinks Paddy Pimblett is one win away from securing a lightweight title opportunity.
This Saturday, Topuria will look to add another championship to his resume when he meets Charles Oliviera for the vacant 155-pound crown at UFC 317 during International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
There’s no denying that ‘El Matador’ is confident that he’ll come out on top in ‘Sin City’ and kickstart a new era in the lightweight division. In fact, Topuria is already eyeing his first potential challenger.
“He’s one fight away from a title shot,” Topuria said of Pimblett during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. “He needs actually that fight because it’s going to be even better for our fight if he gets one more win. Then we’re going to have, I think, the biggest fight in the UFC right now at the moment.”
Ilia Topuria thinks Pimblett vs. Gaethje is the title eliminator to make
As for who Pimblett will have to go through to earn his opportunity, Topuria thinks ‘The Highlight’ would be the perfect test.
“Who do you think? Maybe him versus Justin Gaethje, and then the winner fights the winner of your fight? Yeah, him versus Justin Gaethje,” Topuria continued. “I think he’s going to beat him easily. Because of the style, it’s not like I don’t like Justin, I’m actually a huge fan of all of his fights. I enjoy a lot watching him fight. He’s those guys that takes a lot of punches and throws a lot of punches, I love to watch him fight, but I think that Paddy could get that win easily because of the style.”
Of course, none of this happens unless Topuria holds up his end of the bargain and defeats ‘Do Bronx’ at UFC 317.
