Ilia Topuria vs Paddy Pimblett needs to be made next or the UFC could miss out on all-time fight

With another incredible win, ‘El Matador’ found himself at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, ahead of the likes of Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev.

And still donning an undefeated record, the Spaniard could quite easily go down as the greatest fighter of all time, a title that his longtime rival has already given him.

The UFC needs to act now on Topuria’s next title defense

For several years now, the lightweight division has been one of, if not the strongest division in the sport.

From being reigned over by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Makhachev, to now being dominated by a more fan friendly fighter in Topuria.

And one of the reasons why it has always been one of the most exciting divisions is because it is always filled with several exciting contenders.

Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje and the aforementioned Oliveira have been at the top of the division for years, and they are some of the biggest fan favorites in the sport.

However, there is an eccentric Brit now in the top eight of the division, who is being backed by an entire nation of rowdy English fans.

Since joining the UFC, Paddy Pimblett has rapidly become one of the biggest stars in the promotion because of his comical personality along with his exciting fight style.

And what makes it even better, is that he and Topuria have a real palpable hatred for each other.

So much so, that they tried to fight each other in the fighter hotel ahead of UFC London when they both competed on the same event.

Following Topuria’s title win at UFC 317, he and Pimblett faced off in the center of the Octagon, giving the fans a taste of what their fight could look like.

But despite their face off, the widespread consensus is that ‘The Baddy’ doesn’t deserve a title shot right now.

And although there is a clear argument for that being the case, especially considering he only has one ranked win, he could be the beneficiary of being in the right place at the right time.

This past Wednesday, the UFC boss Dana White announced an utterly redundant lightweight main event fight between Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker.

Tsarukyan should undoubtedly be fighting for the title next, but White is going to make him pay for withdrawing from the UFC 311 main event on 24 hours notice.

And so if White is going to keep ‘Ahalkalakets’ out of the title picture, he needs to act fast on making Topuria vs Pimblett.

Their rivalry is currently at its peak, and if the UFC waits any longer, they risk losing the fight entirely. Pimblett has shown in his seven outings in the cage that he is beatable, and if they match him up with a top five opponent, he could quite easily lose the fight and the opportunity to fight Topuria in what would be an all-time matchup.

Does Pimblett have a chance against Topuria?

If fans learned anything from Topuria’s face off with Pimblett at UFC 317, it’s that ‘The Baddy’ has a huge size advantage over the champion.

‘El Matador’ is likely more naturally a featherweight, having competed most of his career at 145lbs.

Pimblett, though, has become well known amongst the UFC fanbase for completely blowing up in size between his fights and is likely more naturally a welterweight fighter.

However, Pimblett has shown in his last few outings that his chin is there to be hit, and if you don’t want any fighter hitting your chin, you certainly don’t want Topuria being the one to land it.

Ultimately, I don’t think the Brit stands a chance against Topuria, but right now is the best time for the promotion to make the fight, otherwise, they risk losing it completely.