Paddy Pimblett has big plans for his next fight—and they don’t involve Arman Tsarukyan.
Tsarukyan battled his way to a No. 1 contender spot and a rematch with Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 311 this past January, but everything came crashing down for Tsarukyan when a back injury forced him out of the opportunity a day before fight night. Now, Makhachev has moved up to welterweight, his vacant belt was captured by Ilia Topuria, and Tsarukyan is in limbo.
On the strength of a 7-0 UFC record and having a longstanding rivalry with Topuria, Pimblett appears to be first up to challenge Topuria. Should Pimblett have to fight again, he’s eyeing fan favorite Justin Gaethje rather than dealing with Tsarukyan.
“I’d fight anyone as you know, I’m not arsed,” Pimblett said on the One On One show. “Arman’s a very good fighter but no one cares about him, you know what I mean? People just look at him and think, ‘Yeah, you shit yourself fighting Islam. You talk a big game but you don’t back it up.’
“But everyone knows Justin Gaethje’s a f*cking banger. Everyone knows that if you’re fighting Justin Gaethje, you’re going to have a fight. And he’s a legend. Arman isn’t. So I’d love to fight another legend in Justin Gaethje.”
Unfortunately for Pimblett, Gaethje isn’t as intrigued by their potential matchup, recently telling ESPN, “If that’s the route that [the UFC] want me to take, then I don’t believe that they need me anymore.” Gaethje recently defeated Rafael Fiziev to pick up his third win in his past four fights and he believes his overall body of work merits consideration for a shot at Topuria.
Pimblett is also still eyeing Topuria, not just because of their feud, but because he believes it’s what’s best for business right now.
“Now that Jon Jones is retired, I think the biggest fight the UFC can make would be me vs. Ilia,” Pimblett said. “Now there’s no Jon Jones and they can’t do him vs. Tom [Aspinall]. It wouldn’t surprise me if I’ve got the belt in six-to-12 months.”
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