\n<\/p>\n
Yet, come early 2026, the fight seemed very unlikely.<\/p>\n
With Pimblett scoring a 52-second submission over Benoit Saint-Denis<\/strong> 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<\/strong>, he doesn\u2019t think UFC will pull the trigger and make the fight.<\/p>\n \u201cTopuria vs. Pimblett, that fight makes sense,\u201d Tsarukyan said on Deep Waters<\/em> podcast. \u201cBut, I don\u2019t think they are gonna do this fight. They don\u2019t want Paddy to lose. They don\u2019t want Ilia to lose again, so they are gonna give Ilia someone easy.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like they want Paddy to fight for the title again, so they are gonna give him an easy money fight,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think he can beat Max Holloway<\/strong>. If you see Max\u2019s wrestling, it\u2019s like nothing. Paddy at least has a takedown. He can take him down.\u201d<\/p>\n UFC might want to put aside any fear and just book the darn match, because as it learned with \u201cTopuria vs. Makhachev,\u201d 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.<\/p>\nTo checkout UFC\u2019s upcoming schedule of events click here.<\/strong><\/h5>\n