5. Ilia Topuria vs Paddy Pimblett
How often are the seeds of unrest planted during fight week? How often do they materialize in a fight?
Now ask yourself, how often do the two parties involved meet as up-and-comers and by the time of the conflict are both bonafide stars?
When Paddy Pimblett took umbrage with Ilia Topuria, few could imagine the heights the two would go on to reach. Once criticized for taking a too much damage in his fights, “The Baddy” has become a popular megastar beyond his native United Kingdom. In recent appearances in America, Pimblett showed that his popularity isn’t restricted to across the pond and he has positioned himself as a bonafide contender following stoppages of King Green and Michael Chandler.
What more can be said of Ilia Topuria? The Spanish superstar has stopped Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira in consecutive fights and has a case for being the best fighter in the world today. It’s been made clear that Topuria has many worthy options for his first title defense at lightweight, but he himself has singled out Pimblett after the two entered an altercation years ago.
From a marketing standpoint you have it all. Pimblett’s star has a crossover appeal that few fighters ever get to enjoy outside of the MMA bubble. Topuria is can’t miss television for any UFC fan. Sprinkle in the bad blood for each other and you have the recipe for the kind of matchup that can headline any of the tentpole events on the calendar.
More recently, Topuria is taking time away to handle issues in his personal life and Pimblett will be facing perennial title challenger Justin Gaethje. While either matchup is expected to deliver fireworks, there is no doubt that the box office matchup as of this writing is Pimblett.
