Ilia Topuria has a plan for getting the Islam Makhachev fight back. It involves Paddy Pimblett’s head and the bottom of Topuria’s foot.
In an interview with Spanish outlet ABC (the quotes surfaced via @abc_es and @KOlmeneroMMA before Championship Rounds pushed them out on X), Topuria laid out the comeback with all the subtlety of a Fast & Furious trailer: “In my next fight, I go out, knock Paddy out, stomp on his head, and then they’ll say, ‘Wow, look how good the loss was for Ilia and how focused he is’.”
Then he capped it with the oldest line in the sport: “You’re only as good as your last fight, right?”
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He’s right about that. It’s also the hole in his whole pitch.
The Last Fight Was Gaethje
Topuria’s most recent fight is the one against Justin Gaethje, and to his credit he hasn’t spun it. He told Adam Catterall he was grateful his brother stopped it: “If he wouldn’t stop the fight, probably I wouldn’t be able to fight again in my life. I’m so grateful with my brother.”
That’s a heavy thing for a fighter with his ego to say on the record, and I respect it. But think about what he’s actually asking for. He wants one violent night against Paddy to rewrite a loss so bad that his own brother had to step in and save his career. A Paddy highlight would absolutely change the conversation. It would trend for a week, it would sell a ton of pay-per-views, and Topuria would look like Topuria again. It would also leave the Gaethje question sitting right there, unanswered, like the last slice of pizza nobody wants to admit they’re eyeing.
If you’re only as good as your last fight, the fight that fixes the last fight is the rematch. Paddy is a detour with a better soundtrack.
Calling the Champ a Nobody
This is where Topuria went full villain, and I’m not going to pretend I didn’t enjoy it. Asked about Gaethje’s role in what comes next, he said, “He won’t have any say in absolutely anything. He doesn’t call any shots. This is between the UFC and me.”
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Then he went further: “Justin is a nobody. Imagine, if I fight Paddy, Justin even as the champion would have to be the co-main event.”
I love a great heel. I love a guy who talks like the promotion is his personal group chat. But calling the man who just beat you a nobody is a tough sell, even for a talker as good as Topuria. By his own framing Gaethje is the champion. A guy holding the belt and holding a win over you is about as far from a nobody as it gets in this business.
He does have a point on money. “Who could you match him with that would be bigger than my fight with Paddy?” he asked, and he isn’t totally wrong that Topuria vs. Pimblett would print cash. Big-money fights are my weakness. I’m still not going to pretend a box office number settles who’s the best lightweight in the room.
And look, if Topuria doesn’t want that Gaethje rematch soon after the damage he described, that’s a human decision and I won’t knock him for it. Just don’t sell avoiding the champ as the champ being irrelevant. That’s the kind of thing I can’t stand.
He Picks Fights by Feel
The same interview had a revealing tangent about Alexander Volkanovski. Topuria called Volk the best featherweight ever and said he doesn’t want to fight him again because he likes him too much. “I respect him so much and I’ve grown so fond of him that I couldn’t hit him,” he said, while also reminding everyone, “Yes, I beat him. I beat Max Holloway. I did things nobody else had done.”
That’s a sweet sentiment and a genuinely gracious read on Volkanovski’s career. It also tells you Topuria chooses his matchups based on emotion as much as rankings. He doesn’t want Volk because he likes him. He wants Paddy because he very clearly doesn’t. And he wants Makhachev because Makhachev is the fight that defines eras.
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Islam has his own noise right now, too. Carlos Prates reposted one of Makhachev’s quotes from the UFC PI with three lying-face emojis, so it’s not like the other side of this superfight is sitting quietly waiting for Topuria to call.
My Verdict
Topuria is half right. A brutal finish of Paddy would make him the hottest name in the sport again, and the Makhachev talk would come roaring back the second Paddy hit the canvas. Fans have short memories and promoters have shorter ones.
But there’s a gap in his logic. Hype would make Makhachev sellable again. A win over the guy who beat him would make it make sense. Those aren’t the same achievement, and Topuria knows it, which is probably why he spent so much energy telling us Gaethje doesn’t matter.
Dana White told Jim Rome the UFC is already building the return: “He’ll come back in early 2027. We’re working on that.” So the next thing to watch is whether the opponent on that early 2027 poster is Paddy, or the nobody with the belt.
