Paddy Pimblett pushes for Ilia Topuria fight with intriguing pitch

Paddy Pimblett believes mental warfare would agitate Ilia Topuria into a quick loss, and he has the perfect idea for such a scenario.

Pimblett (24-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC) continues to campaign for a fight against Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who lost his lightweight title to Justin Gaethje in surprising fashion at UFC Freedom 250 in June.

The pair already went at each other during a UFC London fight week in March 2022, then during the UFC 282 pre-fight press conference – and Pimblett wants to ramp things up even more.

“I have no fight booked at the minute. I would love to fight Ilia Topuria,” Pimblett said in an interview with Kolos MMA. “I’ll beat him that bad that I’d send him back down to featherweight. I think me and Ilia Topuria would be a brilliant season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ because I’d get under his skin so much, that when we come into the fight, I’d beat him just as fast as (Conor) McGregor beat (Jose) Aldo. ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ would be a very entertaining six weeks, to say the least, if it was me and him.”

Pimblett argues against an Arman Tsarukyan title shot. He thinks Tsarukyan knocking out Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 isn’t a better win than him quickly submitting Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329.

“Ruffy is good, but he’s ranked (No.) 7,” Pimblett said. “I’ve just beat ranked 5, so since UFC 300, he hasn’t beat anyone ranked higher than I’ve beat in over two years, but somehow he’s next for the title? It’s one of them. I’ll just fight whoever’s name gets put on a contract to me. I don’t turn down any fights. I’ve never turned down a fight. If Arman gets offered to me, I’ll fight him. If Ilia gets offered to me, I’ll fight him. If Charles (Oliveira), if Justin, I’ll fight anyone. I don’t care.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Paddy Pimblett pushes for Ilia Topuria fight with intriguing pitch