Ilia Topuria is open to coaching opposite Paddy Pimblett on The Ultimate Fighter. Pimblett pitched the idea as a way to build their long-simmering grudge before they ever share a cage, and Topuria told One on One MMA in a recent interview that he’s heard the talk and likes it, even though nobody from the promotion has called him yet.
“They want to do it, me against Paddy. Nothing official. I haven’t spoken with anyone from the UFC,” Topuria said. “But, yeah, it’s something that could happen. Why not?”
That leaves very few obstacles. Dana White has already publicly supported Pimblett and Topuria coaching TUF in 2027, so the fighters and the boss all appear to be on the same page. A show that has been sliding for years could use a feud with real heat behind it, and this one has plenty.
It started in 2022. Ahead of a UFC Fight Night in London, the two nearly came to blows at a hotel, and people have been asking for the fight ever since. For a while it didn’t fit. Topuria won the featherweight title while Pimblett chased contention at lightweight. Then Topuria moved up to 155 in 2025 and the matchup was back on the table.
This year both men ran into the same problem. Pimblett lost to Justin Gaethje earlier in 2026. In June, Gaethje took Topuria’s lightweight belt, and Bloody Elbow described that loss as brutal. Topuria has since said that one more round against Gaethje would have ended his UFC career. So Gaethje is 2-0 against this pair in a single calendar year.
The two have gone in different directions since. Pimblett rebounded by choking out Benoit Saint-Denis in 52 seconds, which kept him in the title conversation. Topuria is aiming to return in 2027. He still talked like a champion in the interview.
“You put me against anyone right now, and I’m going to change their lives financially,” Topuria said. “And the bad part is that I’m going to change their lives physically also. Because they are going to face a man that has seen everything in this sport.”
Here’s my take. The TUF angle is good business for everyone except people who want to bet the fight early. A coaching season means months of footage, and in my experience that footage moves public money more than any stat sheet does. Topuria is also coming off a loss that he admits nearly finished him, and he won’t fight again until 2027. A long layoff after a beating like that is exactly the spot where I want plus money, not a short price built on old highlight reels. Pimblett’s 52-second submission of Saint-Denis is the most recent real evidence either man has given us. If the books open Topuria as a heavy favorite after a season of TV hype, I’ll be looking hard at the Scouser.
