Ilia Topuria gets 100% real about Paddy Pimblett getting title shot if he beats Charles Oliveira at UFC 317: "That's not going to happen"

Ilia Topuria recently shared his perspective on Paddy Pimblett getting a potential title shot against him if he beats Charles Oliveira. 'El Matador' believes the Brit is one fight away from fighting for the lightweight belt.

Topuria is scheduled to lock horns with Oliveira for the vacant lightweight belt at UFC 317 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 28. 'El Matador' and 'The Baddy' have been at odds since the inception of their UFC careers and share a strained relationship. However, the Georgian-Spaniard believes in Pimblett's ability to beat Justin Gaethje in a potential fight.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani, Topuria said:

"No, that's not going to happen. [Pimblett's] one fight away [from] the title shot. He needs that fight because it's going to be even better for our fight, if he gets one more win. We're going to have, I think, the biggest fight in the in the UFC right now. [Pimblett] vs. Justin Gaethje because I think he's going to beat him easily. I think Paddy could get that win easily because of the style."

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Jorge Masvidal predicts Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira

UFC 317 is right around the corner, and the MMA community has started to place their bets. Ilia Topuria is currently a favorite to beat former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. Having previously trained with Topuria, Jorge Masvidal recently shared his prediction for the fight. Speaking to Red Corner MMA, 'Gamebred' said:

"Maybe I know Topuria for five, six years and I've always said Topuria will be a world champion. Ilia is one out of ten thousand. I think he's gonna be a world champion at 155. He's going to beat Charles, man. Charles is bigger, has kicks, knees, elbows, great jiu-jitsu, good wrestling, skill, everywhere Charles is good. But Ilia is just different, brother."

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About the author

Sunil holds a Bachelor of Science degree in visual communication. He started his professional career in 2023 and has previously worked with FirstSportz and Levitate Studios, among other organizations.

Sunil was drawn to MMA by Conor McGregor, especially the Irishman’s crossover boxing bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017. His favorite fighter is Jorge Masvidal for his wild and unorthodox approach.

Surprisingly, ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Gamebred’ do not find a place in his Mt. Rushmore, which includes Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Alex Pereira, Daniel Cormier, and Khabib Nurmagomedov. He feels ONE Championship’s Rodtang Jitmuangnon has the ability to succeed in the UFC due to his power.

Sunil is of the opinion that the UFC is not doing enough to prevent eye pokes and does not mind soccer kicks in MMA.

In his free time, he likes to watch anime and films in general. He’s also a boxing historian, having gotten into the sport watching videos of fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran.

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Edited by Sunil Krishnan