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Paddy Pimblett recently weighed in on Islam Makhachev's decision to vacate his UFC lightweight championship and move up to welterweight. Pimblett believes Makhachev should have been given the opportunity to move up while also keeping his championship, rather than willingly giving it up.
Makhachev vacated his 155-pound throne after Jack Della Maddalena dethroned Belal Muhammad to become the new welterweight champion last Saturday at UFC 315. As a result, the promotion booked Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight championship at UFC 317 and awarded the Dagestani the first title shot against Della Maddalena at a later date.
Pimblett, in his latest conversation with UFC on TNT's Adam Catterall, highlighted Makhachev's accomplishments at lightweight, which include his record for most consecutive title defenses. 'The Baddy' mentioned that the promotion should have allowed its lightweight champion the opportunity to become a simultaneous two-division kingpin. The Brit said:
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"I didn't think [the UFC would] make Islam vacate. But if you're making Islam vacate, [Jon] Jones needs to be stripped, you know what I mean? If you're making Islam vacate after four defenses, fighting people on short notice, you should let him try to be double champ."
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Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments below (7:26):
Paddy Pimblett's shortcut to title shot
Paddy Pimblett believes he has a lot to gain should Ilia Topuria defeat Charles Oliveira to become the new lightweight champion at UFC 317. In the aforementioned interview, Pimblett discussed his path to a lightweight title shot and mentioned that if Topuria defeats Oliveira, 'The Baddy' might not have to fight a top contender, as he had planned previously, and then fight for UFC gold in 2026.
Pimblett has a history of bad blood with Topuria and believes 'El Matador' might call him out to settle unfinished business after being crowned as the new 155-pound UFC kingpin.
"It's probably better for me if Ilia wins the belt, lad, because he'll probably call me out and then, I could just fight him. Might not even have to fight Gaethje. I could just end up fighting Topuria... I want Charles to win, but probably better for my career if Ilia wins because I'll more than likely be his first title defense."
Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments below:
