Justin Gaethje predicts Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett matchup

Ilia Topuria‘s return is edging closer, and questions persist over who he will face for his first fight back in the octagon.

An instant rematch against Justin Gaethje seems to be the direction the UFC is exploring for ‘El Matador,’ but there’s one more fight that many believe makes sense. A long-term rival, both at the top of the lightweight division, with serious title implications in place for the winner: Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett.

A past altercation and a verbal war lasting half a decade have made the fight one of the biggest in modern history. Two superstars, with large followings; competing for a chance at UFC gold. Speaking on the puzzle that is Paddy Pimblett, UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje said:

“I would love to see it, yeah. Who would win? Paddy is a conundrum to me; I don’t understand him. After fighting him, being in a couple grappling situations with him. My main goal was do not let him touch my head. Don’t let him grab my head, you know? ‘Cause he’s definitely got long a** arms, and he wraps them around your neck, and there’s a lot of leverage going on in there. So, I never thought that he was that strong. I never felt that.”

“Then to see him do that to BSD was incredible. To see him do that to Michael Chandler, even before I fought him. I watched Michael Chandler fighting him and I was like, ‘Wow, this kids got to be incredibly strong. He’s a big guy.’ And then, yeah. I felt strong against him… then I see him do that to BSD and I’m like, ‘What the f*** is going on?'”

Gaethje later compared Topuria and Pimblett’s styles, revealing he wants the fight to happen.

“I think Ilia’s so good. I think Paddy, his style is so unique. And if you do hang out with him and don’t pressure him, I think he’s so hard to hit, and he’s very good at landing, like, funky a** [shots] from crazy angles.”

“So I think if you fight Paddy with space, I think he’s hard ot beat… Paddy’s a problem. These kids are hungry. Yeah, I hope they fight. I think it’ll be great.”