Yet, come early 2026, the fight seemed very unlikely.
With Pimblett scoring a 52-second submission over Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 329 (rewatch that here), all of a sudden the two men are in the same orbit. But, according to fellow top-ranked Lightweight contender, Arman Tsarukyan, he doesn’t think UFC will pull the trigger and make the fight.
“Topuria vs. Pimblett, that fight makes sense,” Tsarukyan said on Deep Waters podcast. “But, I don’t think they are gonna do this fight. They don’t want Paddy to lose. They don’t want Ilia to lose again, so they are gonna give Ilia someone easy.
“I feel like they want Paddy to fight for the title again, so they are gonna give him an easy money fight,” he continued. “I think he can beat Max Holloway. If you see Max’s wrestling, it’s like nothing. Paddy at least has a takedown. He can take him down.”
UFC might want to put aside any fear and just book the darn match, because as it learned with “Topuria vs. Makhachev,” you only have a certain amount of time to make them happen. You try to get too fancy or try to delay it, and the MMA Gods will laugh in your face and blowup the whole thing.