Paddy Pimblett Pitches Ilia Topuria TUF Season

Paddy Pimblett wants Ilia Topuria across the cage from him, and he thinks the build-up should run six weeks long on "The Ultimate Fighter" before they ever touch gloves.

"I have no fight booked at the minute, but I would love to fight Ilia Topuria," Pimblett said recently. He went further, floating the idea of coaching opposite Topuria on the long-running reality show rather than just taking a straightforward booking. "I think me and Ilia Topuria would be a brilliant season of The Ultimate Fighter because I'd get under his skin so much, that when we come into the fight, I'd beat him just as fast as McGregor beat Aldo," Pimblett said, adding that it would be "a very entertaining six weeks to say the least if it was me and him."

The timing lines up with where both lightweights sit right now. Pimblett is 24-4 and coming off a 52-second submission of Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329, a bounce-back performance after he lost a close decision to Justin Gaethje in an interim lightweight title fight. Topuria is 17-1 and has been positioning himself as the division's biggest potential money fight at 155 pounds.

Why a TUF Season Would Delay the Actual Fight

A coaching season sounds great for hype, but it's brutal for anyone who actually wants to see Pimblett and Topuria fight soon. Filming alone runs six weeks, and that's before the show even reaches television. Factor in four to five months of post-production and a three-month weekly broadcast window, and the earliest realistic date for Pimblett vs. Topuria balloons out past ten months from the moment cameras start rolling. That's a long runway for a fight that, on paper, could be booked and staged inside of three months if the UFC just made the match directly.

Dana White has leaned on the TUF format before to sell a superfight, most notably with Conor McGregor, and there's little reason to think he wouldn't take the same route here if he believes it adds enough value. But the show's ratings pull has faded hard in recent years, and stretching out a fight this natural, two of the sport's biggest personalities in the same weight class, risks cooling off a matchup that is already hot on its own.

Betting Angle

There's no line to speak of yet because there's no fight booked, but the mere mention of Pimblett and Topuria in the same breath is enough to get bettors paying attention. Topuria enters any hypothetical matchup as the far more decorated finisher, while Pimblett's case rests on volume, size at 155 and a granite chin that got him through five rounds with Gaethje. If the UFC skips the reality show route and books this for December as has been rumored, expect the odds conversation to center on Topuria's power against Pimblett's durability and cardio. A long TUF build, though, only gives oddsmakers and bettors more tape, more trash talk and more time to shape a number before a bell ever rings.

Pimblett made clear he's chasing this fight regardless of format. Whether the UFC delivers it inside of a few months or asks fans to wait out a full TUF cycle is now the only real question left.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Paddy Pimblett vs Ilia Topuria been booked by the UFC?

No. Paddy Pimblett said he has no fight officially booked at the moment, though he has publicly called for a matchup with Ilia Topuria, possibly as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter.

What are Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria's current UFC records?

Paddy Pimblett is 24-4 after submitting Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329, while Ilia Topuria is 17-1 and considered one of the UFC's top lightweights.

Why would a TUF season delay a Pimblett vs Topuria fight?

Filming The Ultimate Fighter takes about six weeks, followed by four to five months of production and a three-month weekly broadcast, pushing any coaches' fight out more than ten months.