Ilia Topuria Opens As Substantial Betting Favorite Over Paddy Pimblett

Ilia Topuria is the new UFC lightweight champion, and he may have already stood face-to-face with his next opponent, Paddy Pimblett.

The former UFC featherweight kingpin dispatched ex-UFC lightweight titleholder Charles Oliveira with relative ease on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 317. Topuria, who picked up a “Performance of the Night” bonus after he draped UFC gold over his shoulder, knocked out Oliveira 2:27 into the first round of their matchup at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The backup fighter for the UFC 317 main event was No. 1 ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan, who weighed in on Friday just in case he was needed. However, in the aftermath of Topuria’s knockout win over Oliveira, Tsarukyan was largely forgotten as fans, pundits, and the UFC commentary team turned their eyes to the No. 8 ranked Paddy Pimblett, who Joe Rogan invited into the cage, much to the chagrin of UFC CEO Dana White.

Topuria and Pimblett exchanged words and a shove from the newly crowned champ inside the cage.

After the fight, the two had much to say about a potential title fight between them.

ForbesUFC 317 Results: Winners And Losers Topuria Vs. Oliveira Fight CardBy Trent Reinsmith

Ilia Topuria On Paddy Pimblett

“Yes, that’s the fight that I want because with Charles it was a little bit of a difficult situation because I really like the guy,” Topuria said at the UFC 317 post-fight press conference. “He’s a really great human being. You can’t hate him. You always see him surrounded by his family and friends and teammates. He’s an amazing human being, but in the end, I was like, ‘This is competition. I have to do my job and that’s it.’ But with Paddy, I’m really going to enjoy kicking his ass.”

“I could be ready by the need of the year if they want me,” Topuria said of his potential first 155-pound title defense. “If I get the call from the UFC, and they want me to get back in the octagon by the end of the year, I’ll be ready.”

Paddy Pimblett On Ilia Topuria

“You don’t even need to sell that fight – it sells itself,” Pimblett said on ESPN’s UFC 317 post-fight show. “Two people who genuinely dislike each other. We don’t really get that. We haven’t seen that since Khabib and McGregor, two people who actually hate each other. Because I hate him. I wouldn’t want to finish him fast, I would want to finish him with a minute left in the fight after I’ve elbowed him 700 times. I’d want to disfigure him.”

“I’m more motivated when I’m like that, especially the fact that everyone thinks I’ll lose,” Pimblett added. “Everyone thinks I’ll lose. Nine out of 10 people probably think he’ll knock me out. I love proving people wrong. It just gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling inside making people eat their own words.

“I cannot wait. I can’t be booked with anyone else now. It’s a simple as that. I am fighting him next and I am going to take his little head off for him.”

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Ilia Topuria Vs. Paddy Pimblett Opening Betting Odds

When BetOnline published the opening odds for a potential title fight between Topuria and Pimblett, the champ was listed as the -600 favorite over Pimblett, who was a +450 betting underdog.

Those odds have already shifted, and as of now, Topuria is -500 to Pimblett’s +385.

Dana White On Ilia Topuria Vs. Paddy Pimblett

“I don’t know who the hell let him in there,” White said after the event after Topuria shoved Pimblett in the Octagon. “That should’ve never happened. Let’s start there. I was already back in my room, or that would’ve never happened.”

“My thing with Topuria is his wife and kid are in the octagon. That’s not the fight. It’s just, yeah. It shouldn’t happen. That’s not really what we do. I don’t really give a sh*t if it’s fun to watch or not. That shouldn’t have happened. Plus, he wins a second title in a higher division. It was a bad call by whoever let him in there,” White continued.

As for the fight actually happening, White did not commit to the matchup.

“We’ll see,” White said. “We’ll see how this plays out.”

The Origin Of The Ilia Topuria And Paddy Pimblett Conflict

Topuria and Pimblett have had beef since 2021, when Pimblett got into an online argument with UFC fighter Guram Kutateladze, who hails from the country of Georgia. During that back-and-forth, Pimblett posted a since-deleted remark, “Lad how stupid are these Georgians man, no wonder the Russians terrorise their lives.'”

That remark led to a confrontation in the fighter hotel in London in March 2022, where a punch and a bottle of hand sanitizer were thrown.

“It didn’t happen because he called me something yesterday. It comes from a long time ago,” Topuria explained at the time on The MMA Hour. “He was arguing with one of my close friends once on Twitter, and he posted [something] like, ‘Now I understand why Russia destroyed Georgia because you’re dumb,’ and it makes my blood boil. When I saw it, I was surprised. I didn’t believe it when I saw that tweet because in 2008, I was living in Georgia when the war happened, and it was a very difficult time for me, for my family, for all my friends, and for my country. A lot of innocent people, kids, were dying in that war.

“And to see how someone is joking about that, it makes my blood boil,” Topuria continued. “So I texted with him, I don’t remember what I tweeted, and when they gave me the fight in London, he text me like three weeks ago, like, ‘I can’t wait to see you in London. We’ll see if you have the balls to tell me everything you texted me on Twitter.’ Bulls—t.”

“Can you imagine if I started to make some jokes about the war, where their children are dying, where people are suffering?” Topuria continued. “You can’t talk about that. So this is why.

“The same situation [happened to us], we were living in Georgia in 2008,” Topuria added. “The same situation. I was living there, and a lot of guys from my class, my friends, I saw all of them out there, their parents were dying in the war, and crazy situations — I can’t even explain how the situation was at that time. [It bothers me] when I hear someone joking about that.”

Topuria and Pimblett fought on that London card with Topuria knocking out Jai Herbert in the first round of their lightweight bout. Meanwhile, Pimblett defeated Kazula Vargas via submission. Both men earned “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their wins.

The Topuria Vs. Pimblett Beef Continues

Topuria and Pimblett reignited their feud in December 2022 when they shared a stage for the UFC 282 press conference.

During that press conference, Pimblett said to Topuria, “Are you talking English? English? Speak English for the people, lad, not German or Spanish like you’re from, you mongrel. You pretend to be Georgian, but you’re not. You were born in Germany, and you live in Spain. You were born in Germany, and you live in Spain. You’re a little mongrel. That’s what you are. You’re a little mongrel.”

Those words did not sit well with Topuria, as he stood and threatened Pimblett during the event before things seemed to cool down, at least at the time.

Both men fought on the PPV card on that event, with Topuria opening the main card with a submission win over Bryce Mitchell. Meanwhile, Pimblett defeated Jared Gordon via decision in the co-main event that night. Topuria earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his stoppage.

We will have more on Topuria vs. Pimblett as news becomes available.