Paddy Pimblett is still waiting to be told what’s next in his career, and he thinks Islam Makhachev winning the welterweight title at UFC 322 further muddied the waters.
With Pimblett’s (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) clear goal being a lightweight title shot against Ilia Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC), the desire from “El Matador” to chase Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) and a potential record third UFC divisional title appears to be appetizing.
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Whether that fight will be made remain to be seen, but Pimblett is under the impression that Makhachev will have influence. The UFC will be the ultimate decider, though, and Pimblett sees a lot of compelling matchups with proven contenders at 170 pounds – two of whom scored big wins at UFC 322 in Carlos Prates and Michael Morales.
“Ilia’s been saying he wants to go up and fight him, but you’ve got other contenders there now,” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. “Morales, Prates, you’ve then got Ian (Machado) Garry if he beats Belal (Muhammad) next week. Shavkat (Rakhmonov), as well, who needs to come back – he’s been the No. 1 contender for about a year. They’re all exciting matchups for Islam. The welterweight division at the moment could be becoming more exciting than the lightweight division. I don’t think any division has been more exciting than lightweight in more than 10 years. It’s good times for the sport.
“Let’s see what’s happening now with Islam because, is Ilia going to stick to his word and say he’s going to move up? Or is he going to stick to his other word and say he’s going to fight me next? We don’t know what’s happening. You never know. I could end up fighting Ilia. I could end up fighting Justin Gaethje as I thought it was going to be in Abu Dhabi, but no one knows what’s happening until Islam decides what he’s doing because Ilia’s saying he wants to fight him. But I’ll be fighting next year no matter who it is. I’ll have an opponent. I’ll definitely be fighting early next year.”
Regardless of how it plays out, Pimblett, 30, doesn’t appear to be eager to play a waiting game. He wants to chase greatness, and seeing what Makhachev did in becoming the 11th fighter in UFC history to win titles in two weight classes only fuels that.
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“(Makhachev is) pound-for-pound No. 1, lad,” Pimblett said. “Unbelievable performance. I think he goes down as one of the best ever.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Paddy Pimblett: Islam Makhachev’s win could derail Ilia Topuria fight
