A December grudge match between Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria has been the most talked-about fight in the UFC Lightweight (155 lbs / 70.3 kg) division for weeks. Tim Welch, the head coach of Sean O’Malley, recently claimed he had heard rumours of Pimblett versus Topuria being booked for UFC 335 on December 12. The MMA world reacted immediately. Now Pimblett has reacted too and his answer is equal parts enthusiasm and frustration.
What Happened
Pimblett 24-4-0 was in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday September 6, 2026, to watch his SBG teammate and close friend Molly McCann compete in a boxing bout. While there, he was approached by journalist Eze Obasi and asked directly about the rumoured UFC 335 fight with Topuria. His response was completely in character.
Pimblett told Eze Talks Sports: “I’d love to smash his head in, lad, but we need to wait and see. Nothing yet. No one has spoke to me about it, so we’ll see what happens.”
The quote captures where this fight actually stands. The desire is real and mutual. The official contact has not happened. Until the UFC picks up the phone and tells Pimblett who his next opponent is, nothing Tim Welch heard, nothing fans are speculating about, and nothing the MMA media is reporting changes the facts on the ground.
Key Details
The rumour originated with Tim Welch, who coaches bantamweight contender Sean O’Malley. Welch claimed on a podcast that he had heard Pimblett versus Topuria was being discussed for UFC 335 on December 12, 2026. Welch is not a UFC matchmaker and had no official confirmation behind the claim he was reporting what he had heard. That is how the speculation began.
Pimblett has been in limbo since his submission victory over Benoit Saint-Denis, which took just 52 seconds and was arguably his greatest display inside the Octagon against one of the division’s elite. No fight announcement has followed. No official talks have reportedly taken place. For a fighter ranked fifth in the world at lightweight coming off the best win of his career, the silence from the UFC has been notable.
Pimblett confirmed he wants to return in December and named several top-155 names he would take on Arman Tsarukyan 23-4-0, current champion Justin Gaethje 29-5-0, Mauricio Ruffy 16-4-0, and Charles Oliveira 34-10-0 all made his list alongside Topuria. His exact words: “When I get told who I’m fighting, I am sure everyone else will know.”
Dan Hooker 24-14-0, who faces Salahdine Parnasse 23-2-0 in the UFC Paris main event on September 5, offered a different perspective on Submission Radio this week. Hooker suggested the UFC may bypass Topuria entirely and slide Pimblett directly into a title fight against Gaethje as the champion’s first defence. Hooker said: “Oh well, baby, he’s the champ. He can do whatever the f**k he wants. For sure, they are just sliding Paddy Pimblett into a title fight.”
⚠️ Note: Hooker’s quote is from a published interview used for sporting context only, not as a source citation.
Topuria 17-1-0 is currently ranked number one at Lightweight after losing the title to Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June 2026 via TKO in Round 4. Topuria lost his 155-pound title to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June when he was battered en route to a fourth-round TKO via doctor’s stoppage. Whether he returns as the same fighter after that defeat remains a question the MMA world has not yet answered.
The Rivalry Five Years of Bad Blood
The Pimblett versus Topuria story did not begin with a fight announcement. It began in a hotel lobby in London in 2022. Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria during a pre-event gathering, earning the Georgian a nickname from The Baddy that has stuck ever since “sanitizer boy.” It was petty, ridiculous, and entirely in keeping with how these two fighters interact.
The rivalry escalated from there. Multiple press conference clashes. Verbal exchanges across social media. Pimblett publicly backing himself to beat Topuria whenever the question was raised. Topuria dismissing Pimblett as unworthy of a fight. The tension between them feels genuine rather than manufactured because it predates any commercial motivation to keep it going.
Pimblett reportedly paid for Topuria’s stool after it had been auctioned off, said to have gone for $13,700, with the Englishman as the highest bidder. He posed with the chair for a photo on his Instagram page, captioned “collector’s item,” with Spanish music playing in the background. When Gaethje stopped Topuria and the stool went up for auction, Pimblett spent $13,700 to own a piece of his rival’s most humiliating moment. That is the level of personal investment in this rivalry.
Pimblett told Barstool’s Spinnin Backfist: “I always say it, we have weight classes for a reason. Ilia Topuria is a fat featherweight. He’s not a lightweight lad, and if I ever fight him, people will realize that. If he fights me, he will move back down to ’45 because he will realize how small he is for the weight.”
What This Means for the Lightweight Division
Pimblett has moved up the UFC lightweight rankings to number five as a result of his bounce-back win over Saint-Denis, joining Holloway, Oliveira, Tsarukyan, and Topuria as the key figures chasing the champion.
The lightweight division heading into the final quarter of 2026 carries more genuine title contenders than any other weight class in the UFC. Gaethje holds the belt. Topuria is ranked first and wants a rematch. Pimblett is ranked fifth and wants either Topuria or the title. Tsarukyan fights Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 331 on September 19 a win puts him directly in line for a title shot. Oliveira is still in the conversation. Max Holloway 27-8-0 is also at lightweight after his welterweight fight against McGregor.
The result of Tsarukyan versus Ruffy at UFC 331 will have a direct impact on how the UFC sequences the next set of lightweight fights. A Tsarukyan win gives Gaethje his most credible challenger after the Topuria rematch. A Ruffy win creates a fresh contender and potentially opens the door for Pimblett versus Topuria to headline a December card without those two men needing to beat anyone else first.
The broader lightweight picture heading into September is covered in our Justin Gaethje Holloway Oliveira losses article and the UFC Paris fight week context including Hooker’s comments on Pimblett is in our Dan Hooker Salahdine Parnasse UFC Paris main event article.
Background Context
Paddy Pimblett 24-4-0 was born on January 3, 1995, in Liverpool, England. He trains at Finney’s MMA in Liverpool and SBG Ireland in Dublin. He is a former Cage Warriors Featherweight champion who joined the UFC in 2021 and has gone 7-1 inside the Octagon. His losses came against Gaethje at UFC 324 in January 2026 for the interim lightweight title a fight Pimblett lost by TKO in Round 3. He rebounded with the Saint-Denis submission in 52 seconds, his most impressive UFC win.
Ilia Topuria 17-1-0 was born on January 21, 1997, in Halle, Germany, to Georgian parents. He trains at Topuria Team in Alicante, Spain. He is a former two-division UFC champion Featherweight (145 lbs / 65.8 kg) and Lightweight who vacated the featherweight belt to move up in weight and won the lightweight title at UFC 317 with a first-round knockout. He lost it to Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 in June 2026. He is currently ranked number one in the lightweight division. His record stands at 17-1-0 with 7 wins by KO and 8 by submission. For the full UFC Paris card context that sets the backdrop for this week’s news see our UFC Paris Hooker vs Parnasse prediction article.
Conclusion
Paddy Pimblett wants to fight Ilia Topuria at UFC 335 in December. Topuria has not publicly shut the fight down. The UFC has not officially contacted either fighter about the booking. Tim Welch heard a rumour and shared it. The MMA world ran with it. Pimblett’s reaction confirms the appetite is real on his side he would love to smash his head in. Whether the UFC delivers that fight before the end of 2026 depends on what happens at UFC 331 on September 19, how Gaethje’s hand recovery progresses, and whether the promotion decides a five-year grudge match between two of the division’s biggest personalities is worth putting at the top of a December card. The answer feels obvious. The phone call just hasn’t come yet.
