Ilia Topuria is hoping to become the new lightweight champion of the UFC 317 and is already planning a potential matchup in the future.
The former featherweight king, who made his second appearance on Saturday at 155 pounds, faces Charles Oliveira in the main event, recognizes that the biggest fight he has available will likely revolve around a showdown with Paddy Pinblett. These two fell into a physical altercation ahead of the UFC event in London a few years ago, but the bad blood between them has been growing ever since.
So Topuria already wanted Pimblett to act as his first title defense as the champion, and he laid out a plan for the candid Britt to win that opportunity.
“If he wants to guarantee the title, he has to compete with Justin Geche,” Topria said Wednesday at UFC 317 Media Day. “If he’s going to fight Ahman (Tsarkian), I think Ahman will beat him, so the easiest path he needs to get a title shot is Justin.
Arman Tsarukyan weighs in as a backup to the UFC 317 main event, and has his own words of the war of words with Topuria at the top of this card. In January, the emperor was scheduled to face then-champion Islam Makachev, but a back injury forced him out of the card at the last moment.
Since then, UFC CEO Dana White has asserted that Tarkian needs to win before he gets another chance in the title, but hasn’t been rebooked since the battle for Makhachev fell apart.
Meanwhile, Gaethje says he plans to wait for the winner of Topuria vs. Oliveira, so his fight with Pimblett may not be very interesting.
Gaethje’s Chagrin has been Pimblett, who has been attracting Topuria’s attention after recently destroying title challenger Michael Chandler. On top of that, the shared silly between Topuria and Pimblett has everything for a huge hit battle between them.
“That fight could be one of the biggest fights in UFC history,” Topuria said of a potential matchup with Pimblett. “Listen, I’m a personal (I have nothing) in this game. It’s all expert.”
Before he can begin planning for the future, Topuria will first need to pass Oliveira in the UFC 317 main event.
Topuria already expects Oliveira to march in an octagon, predicting that she has cleaned up the way she’s made other legends of the sport, such as Alexander Volkanovsky and Max Holloway.
After hearing these comments, Oliveira has promised to adopt a similar strategy, and Topuria welcomes the former champion’s game plan.
“Remember, this is what he’s trying to do,” Topria said of Oliveira. “That’s not what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to do it. He’s going to win. Of course he wasn’t at all (I was surprised at what he said), that’s his job, he needs to be confident.”