Pimblett Chooses Between Gaethje And Topuria
Despite being the man who lost to Justin Gaethje, Paddy Pimblett is siding with him to beat UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria.
The historic unification bout, set for June 14, 2026, on the South Lawn, pits the undefeated champion against the interim titleholder. Topuria has three consecutive knockouts over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway (at UFC 308), and most recently, Charles Oliveira (at UFC 317) to claim the vacant lightweight crown. However, Pimblett warns that counting out Gaethje is a mistake the MMA world has made before.
Gaethje earned his spot in this title bout by defeating Pimblett via unanimous decision at UFC 324 in January. Pimblett admitted the power and pressure Gaethje brings are “different” and could disrupt Topuria’s clinical striking. At 37, Gaethje does not have many years left in the sport. Pimblett noted that fighting on the White House lawn—on Flag Day and President Trump’s 80th birthday—could be an advantage.
Pimblett Reacts
“My two mates in the main event. Ilia did say he was going to come back around this time, so June is perfect for him, and obviously Justin Gaethje said when he was fighting me he wants to beat me and then go on to fight on the White House, and he’s done it. So hat’s off to him, he’s done it. That’s a scrap, they’re going to come out and try to take each other’s heads off. Everyone’s already counting Gaethje out, and we’ve already learned that you can’t do that. I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that Gaethje might pull off an upset here and surprise everyone, but as you know, it’s a fist fight.
“It could go either way. Anyone could beat anyone. In the White House, he’s probably going to have a little bit more motivation to go out there and win because it’s in front of his president and his home country. We’ll have to see how that one plays out because obviously it’s big implications for the rest of the division. I’m obviously going to be watching that. I’ll have my eye on that, but I’m going to be focused on whoever I get to fight next. Hopefully I’m going to find out the next few weeks when my next fight will be, and hopefully it’s around that time, around June or July,” Pimblett said
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