After a stunning first round knockout victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, the question of who Ilia Topuria should fight next has already sparked debate in the MMA world. Topuria became just the tenth fighter in UFC history to secure belts in two different divisions and his historic three fight run against Volkanovski, Holloway and Oliveira mean that his name will be right up there in the pound-for-pound rankings.
Despite this, MMA is a fast moving sport and fans are now focused on who ‘El Matador’ will face next. With a plethora of potential contenders in the division including a potential rematch against Max Holloway should he defeat Dustin Poirier next month or a potential fight down the line against Islam Makhachev should he return to lightweight however, there are three contenders in the lightweight division that seem more likely than the others.
Paddy Pimblett: A super fight years in the making
Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett and Topuria have history within the UFC, and this fight seems destined to happen, with the pair having to be separated at multiple UFC events. Whilst Topuria would enter the fight as a favourite, Pimblett would introduce an interesting stylistic matchup for Topuria with Paddy having displayed elite grappling and improved striking in his last few fights.
Speaking at the UFC 317 Post Fight Show, Pimblett talked up the appeal of the fight saying, “We’ve got history. You don’t even need to sell that fight. It sells itself. Two people who genuinely dislike each other. You don’t really get that. We haven’t seen that since Khabib and McGregor, two people who actually hate each other. Because I hate him.”
This fight would be huge for the UFC, with both fighters becoming superstars in the sport over the last few years and the added history would undoubtedly lead to a heated build-up. Paddy’s entrance into the cage to face off against Topuria has added more hype for a potential matchup, and the face-off may force the UFC down the road of a Topuria-Pimblett matchup.
Arman Tsarukyan: Rightful number one contender?
Arman Tsarukyan may feel like he is the rightful number one contender, with Tsarukyan scheduled to fight Makhachev for the belt back in January however, it does not seem likely that the UFC will grant him an immediate title shot, despite Arman weighing in as the backup for the UFC 317 main event, with Dana White indicating that Tsarukyan will likely have to fight once more before a title shot.
Still, it would be a very intriguing matchup and arguably the hardest fight that Topuria could take, with wins against Oliveira and Beneil Dariush in his last two fights. The Armenian is arguably the most well rounded of all the current contenders and his number one ranking means that he will likely be one of the names discussed as Topuria’s next opponent.
Justin Gaethjie: Last shot at the title
Justin Gaethjie has been a mainstay in the top five of the lightweight division for the best part of the decade, and the American believes that he should be fighting for the title next with his manager, Ali Abdelaziz claiming that he may retire if Justin does not get the title shot. Speaking to Submission Radio earlier this month, he said “The guy did so much for the sport. And if anyone said he doesn’t deserve it… he said, if I’m not gonna fight for the title, I’m just gonna hang up my gloves.”
Gaethjie has always been a top contender and has challenged for the title twice against Khabib Nurmagamedov and Charles Oliveira however, he is 1-1 in his last two with a loss against Max Holloway and a victory over Rafael Fiziev. Whilst he may not be the most obvious choice, Gaethjie is a big name and would be a fan-friendly matchup. It would also arguably be the most powerful opponent Topuria has faced, giving even more hype to a potential matchup.
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