UFC star makes confident Paddy Pimblett vs Ilia Topuria admission
Pimblett and Topuria have been on a collision course ever since they clashed at the fighter hotel during UFC London in 2022, and the fight could soon be on the horizon
UFC welterweight sensation Ian Machado Garry has predicted a fight between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett would go down as one of the "biggest fights" ever.
The bad blood between 'The Baddy' and Topuria dates back to an infamous altercation three years ago during a UFC London event. After a heated exchange in the fighter hotel, Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitiser at Topuria, sparking chaotic scenes.
The clash in London seemed to ignite the bitter feud, and there have been teases about them facing off in the octagon despite previously competing in different divisions. However, that all changed earlier this year when Topuria vacated his featherweight title in favour of a move up to 155lbs.
'El Matador' has jumped straight into a title fight against Charles Oliveira for the newly vacated 155lb championship belt at next month's UFC 317, following Islam Makhachev's decision to step up to welterweight. Providing Topuria comes away with the win and unscathed, it could set up eagerly anticipated clash with the Liverpudlian.
'The Baddy' recently secured the most significant victory of his career against Michael Chandler, and despite many believing the Brit needs another win before competing for the title, he could be thrust into a title bout with Topuria due to their mutual animosity. While 'El Matador' is set to fight Oliveira, a close friend of Machado Garry, the Irishman is still keen to see a showdown between Topuria and Pimblett.
In an interview with Covers.com, he said: "Paddy's been phenomenal. You can't give nothing but praise to what he's done and how he's done it. He's gone out there. He's backed up everything he said. He's beaten and is beating everyone that's been put in front of him and he's looked great and has that popularity inside and outside the Octagon, he's doing what he needs to do, and he's doing a very good job at it. Paddy and Ilia is a massive, massive fight if that happens down the line. It's going to be so big, so big. I reckon that's a stadium [fight]. That'll be one of the biggest fights we've ever seen."
Pimblett is indeed keen on facing Topuria in Abu Dhabi in October, but he admits that his likely opponent will be Justin Gaethje. "I'm hoping to fight in Abu Dhabi in October. I think that's when I'm going to be back in the cage," Pimblett told BBC Sport.
"I was thinking Ilia might call me out if he wins [against Oliveira]. I'd love to beat him if he gets the belt. I'd love to fight him anyway but he's booked, so I think it's more than likely Justin Gaethje." The Brit was asked about his interest in dangerous contender Arman Tsarukyan - to which he replied: "No one [cares] about Arman Tsarukyan and people actually want to watch Gaethje fight. People know it'll be an exciting fight, me versus Gaethje," said Pimblett. "Tsarukyan, he's just an absolute tool, and then it's me and Gaethje. One win away and I'll be fighting for the belt. Yeah, that's always been the aim. It's the only aim that we have."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Will Max Verstappen get a race ban for deliberate George Russell crash?
Max Verstappen is on the verge of receiving a one-race ban from Formula 1 following his controversial collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. In the final laps of Sunday's race, which was won by Oscar Piastri, the pair made contact at the safety car restart, with Verstappen subsequently cutting turn one. Red Bull asked the irate Dutchman to let Russell overtake him and initially he pulled aside at turn five, appearing to comply. But suddenly, Verstappen drove into the side of his rival's Mercedes, slightly damaging both cars before finally letting the Brit past. After the race, the four-time champion essentially confessed to deliberately causing the crash, with Russell and the rest of the grid left stunned by the incident. Stewards immediately investigated the crash and quickly slapped Verstappen with a 10-second time penalty. This meant that he dropped from fifth to 10th in the race result, costing him valuable points in the championship battle with Piastri and Lando Norris. Explaining their decision, they said: 'From the radio communications, it was clear that the driver of Car 1 [Verstappen] was asked by his team to 'give the position back' to Car 63 [Russell] for what they perceived to be an earlier breach by Car 1 for leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage (in fact, we had later determined that we would take no further action in relation to that incident). 'The driver of Car 1 was clearly unhappy with his team's request to give the position back. At the approach to Turn 5, Car 1 significantly reduced its speed thereby appearing to allow Car 63 to overtake. 'However, after Car 63 got ahead of Car 1 at the entry of Turn 5, Car 1 suddenly accelerated and collided with Car 63. The collision was undoubtedly caused by the actions of Car 1. We therefore imposed a 10 second time penalty on Car 1.' However, the stewards also handed Verstappen three penalty points on his superlicence, bringing his tally up to 11. Crucially, if a driver receives 12 points over a 12-month period they will be handed a one-race ban. Fortunately for the Red Bull star, two of the points he's accumulated will expire soon on June 30. Unfortunately for him, there are two more grand prix before the end of the month – Canada on June 15 and Austria on June 29 – one more point at either will see him suspended. Since the penalty point system was introduced a decade ago, only one driver has received a race ban, namely former Haas star Kevin Magnussen last year. Max Verstappen was in no mood to discuss the incident post-race but appeared to confess that it was deliberate. Asked by Sky Sports whether the contact was intentional, the 27-year-old angrily replied: 'Does it matter?' Pushed again for an answer, he responded: 'Yeah, okay. That's great. I prefer to speak about the race rather than one single moment.' Read the full quotes and George Russell's reaction here. On commentary duty for Sky Sports, 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg, was left outraged by Verstappen's actions and immediately called for him to be disqualified from the race. 'Wow, that's bad bad bad. He just rammed him full on. You need to black flag him,' the German said. 'Max was right in the first instance and then the team went against Max and caused him to boil over. The first one was George's fault because he went in too hot, oversteered out and tapped Max who then had to use the escape road. More Trending 'In Max's eyes he's 100 per cent in the right. 'Why are you telling me to do this, watch this I will show you what he did'. Slowed down and rammed into him which is even worse. To slow down and ram into another driver is pretty bad. 'That [penalty] is a very lenient one from my point of view. Remember Sebastian Vettel against Lewis Hamilton in Baku 2017. Vettel got a 10-second stop and go penalty for that incident back then. 'It looked like a very intentional retaliation. Wait for the opponent, go ramming into him, just like you felt the other guy rammed into you at Turn 1. 'That's something which is extremely unacceptable and I think the rules would be a black flag yes. If you wait for your opponent to bang into him, that's a black flag.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Spanish Grand Prix: McLaren on top but Lando Norris is still wary of Max Verstappen in F1 title race MORE: What Max Verstappen told Lewis Hamilton after Monaco qualifying clash MORE: Monaco Grand Prix: Plenty of horsepower in the car park as F1 stars enjoy working from home
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Maycee Barber: ‘I owe an apology' to UFC after seizure, late dropout
June 2 - In an Instagram post Sunday, Maycee Barber commented on the last-minute cancellation of her UFC Fight Night main event against Erin Blanchfield due to a medical event. Barber did not confirm in her post that she suffered a seizure, but a video showed her being wheeled out of the arena on a stretcher. One of the photos she posted displayed her with medical sensors attached across her body. "Not what I had planned for a Sunday post," Barber wrote. "Thank you to everyone for the prayers & support I owe an apology to @ufc @mickmaynard2 @danawhite @seanshelby & @blanchfield_mma." In an interview with ESPN, Blanchfield said she was waiting for her walkout music Saturday night at UFC Vegas 107 when UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell told her backstage that Barber was medically unfit to fight. "No one said anything until Hunter came in and told me she was having a seizure and that she wouldn't be able to compete," Blanchfield said. Blanchfield blasted Barber, who had missed weight by half a pound the previous day. "She needs to look at another division," Blanchfield said. "She needs to fix her life. She needs to just fix herself. I think she's a complete mess in every aspect of her entire life." Barber, in her social media post, acknowledged Blanchfield's dig. "PS my life is not messy this is just a bad hand," Barber wrote. "We will get to the bottom of it all and be back." Barber was attempting to compete in a UFC fight for the first time since March 2024, in part due to other health scares. She was hospitalized for nine days in 2024 due to a combination of pneumonia, strep throat and a staph infection. Barber vs. Blanchfield was billed as a fight between top-five flyweight contenders. Blanchfield told ESPN she would not consider accepting another fight with Barber. --Field Level Media
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Daily Mail
UFC Futures Bet: Odds-on favourites Merab Dvalishvili, Joaquin Buckley and Ilia Topuria all to win in June BOOSTED to 7/4
Mixed martial arts fans can look forward to a fantastic month of action in June as there are two pay-per-view events and a further two Fight Nights taking place. With that in mind let's take a look at a futures Price Boost on offer with Sky Bet for UFC 316 on June 8, UFC Fight Night on June 15, and UFC 317 on June 28 (BST). The UFC 316 main event is between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley in a pivotal rematch. Dvalishvili cruised to a unanimous decision victory in their first match-up in September of last year. Meanwhile, former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman battles Joaquin Buckley in a mouthwatering Fight Night event a week later. Usman will be looking to return to the winner's circle after three straight losses, while Buckley is in a rich vein of form that includes six victories in a row. Lastly, the final card for the month of June is a highly-anticipated lightweight clash between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira. This will be Topuria's first fight at 155lb after the former welterweight champion moved up from 145lb - a division in which he claimed huge wins over all-time greats Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in his final two fights in the weight class. Conversely, a win over Topuria will see Oliveira put himself back into contention for a title shot in the near future. With the above match-ups in mind, the aforementioned Price Boost requires Dvalishvili, Buckley and Topuria all to win. The odds for that particular bet have been enhanced from 6/4 to 7/4 odds. All three fighters enter their respective match-ups as odds-on favourites, according to Sky Bet. Merab Dvalishvili, Joaquin Buckley and Ilia Topuria all to win WAS 6/4 NOW 7/4
