Rival says he'd 'smash' lightweight | MMA News
Former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria relinquished the 145-pound title and moved up to the lightweight division to compete for the undisputed 155-pound crown against former champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last June.
He knocked out “do Bronxs” in the first spherical to seize the lightweight title. Who “El Matador” will face in his first title protection stays unclear, but rival and No. 6 ranked contender Paddy Pimblett desires to be the challenger.
It’s no secret that Pimblett and Topuria do not like each other. The feud between the 2 dates back years. It started from online feedback by Pimblett about Topuria’s countrymen. That led to a bodily altercation at the fighter lodge in London during UFC Fight Night 204 struggle week in March 2022. The two practically got here to blows at the UFC 282 Press Conference later that 12 months.
If a struggle between the 2 will get booked, Pimblett believes he has the instruments to defeat the champion wherever the struggle goes.
“I’ll absolutely smash his face in for him. I can see me beating him anywhere the fight goes, to be honest,” Pimblett told James Sweetnam.
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Topuria’s rise has been nothing short of spectacular. To win the featherweight title, he knocked out longtime titleholder Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. He defended the belt against Max Holloway at UFC 208 and turned the first fighter to KO the Hawaiian. To win the lightweight championship, he knocked out Oliveira. It’s one of the best three-fight title struggle runs in the promotion’s historical past.
With the knockout streak over legends, Topuria climbed to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, but Pimblett plans to knock the Georgian down a few notches.
“People have put him on a pedestal now. They think he’s this big, amazing thing. I’ll bring him back down to Earth in a big way,” Pimblett said.
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