Pimblett Shoots Down Topuria December Fight Rumor

Paddy Pimblett says the UFC has not approached him about a December fight with Ilia Topuria despite recent speculation linking the two rivals.

Tim Welch, who coaches Sean O'Malley, claimed he heard rumors that Pimblett and Topuria could meet before the end of the year. But the Liverpool lightweight told Eze Obasi in a video interview published by Sherdog that no one from the promotion has contacted him about the matchup. "I'd love to smash his head in, lad, but we need to wait and see. No one spoke to me about it," Pimblett said.

The 24-4 fighter confirmed he wants to return in December and rattled off several top-155 names he would take on short notice. Arman Tsarukyan, current champion Justin Gaethje, Mauricio Ruffy, and Charles Oliveira all made his list alongside Topuria, the former two-division champion who recently lost his featherweight belt to Gaethje.

Pimblett and Topuria have feuded for years, starting with the Brit's comments about Georgia that angered the Tbilisi native. Their rivalry escalated when Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria in a London hotel lobby in 2022, earning the Georgian the nickname "sanitizer boy" from Pimblett. The two have clashed at press conferences since and traded barbs over their respective losses to Gaethje.

If the UFC books Pimblett in December, it would be his first appearance since his lightweight title loss earlier this year.