UFC star Paddy Pimblett didn’t hold back on Charles Oliveira after his brutal knockout loss to Ilia Topuria.
Ilia Topuria secured his second UFC championship belt by knocking out Charles Oliveira in the first round of their UFC 317 headliner. Topuria landed a ‘Knockout of the Year’ candidate on Oliveira; with a clean right hook followed up by a left hand as Oliveira collapsed to the canvas.
Topuria won the then-vacant lightweight title after Islam Makhachev announced his move to welterweight earlier this year. After knocking out Oliveira, Topuria had a heated faceoff with longtime foe Paddy Pimblett, and the two rivals could be on a collision course.
While Pimblett is ecstatic to finally get his chance at settling his beef with Topuria, he shared a brutal assessment of Oliveira’s performance at UFC 317.
Paddy Pimblett doesn’t hold back on ‘amateur’ Charles Oliveira after UFC 317
Pimblett has been complimentary of Oliveira during their lightweight careers, and has teased a potential fight booking numerous times. But after UFC 317, Pimblett’s admiration for Oliveira’s accolades took a major hit.
During a recent appearance on the Verse Us podcast, Pimblett went off on Oliveira for his UFC 317 performance.
“I really like Charles, but what the —- was that gameplan?” Pimblett said.
“Standing in front of him and getting punched in the face. First 30 seconds he did a little bit, teeped him, leg kicked him. And I thought it could be a tough night for Topuria…but when Oliveira was walking out, I thought he looked nervous… I’d like to know what the gameplan was. What are you doing just standing in the middle?
“It blew my mind how stupid he can be. It was his 47th pro fight, and he was going in there like an amateur.”
Oliveira’s loss to Topuria was his second consecutive defeat in UFC title fights, after falling to Makhachev for the then-vacant title at UFC 280. Before falling to Topuria, Oliveira earned wins over Michael Chandler and Beneil Dariush to return to the lightweight title picture.
Oliveira seemed to take the loss in stride in his first post-UFC 317 social media remarks, but his performance has left many with more questions than answers. He could potentially return to the Octagon later this year, but is now a few fights out from potentially earning another lightweight title shot.
Paddy Pimblett rumored to face Justin Gaethje after UFC 319 fight leak
As for what’s next for Pimblett, UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis made headlines earlier this week when he claimed that Pimblett vs. Justin Gaethje will serve as the UFC 319 co-main event next month. This would contradict the idea of Pimblett clinching the next lightweight title shot after his faceoff with Topuria, but as of this writing, nothing has been formally announced by the UFC matchmakers.
Gaethje initially hinted at retirement if he didn’t receive the next lightweight title shot. A win over Pimblett would almost certainly clinch another title opportunity, ahead of top contender Arman Tsarukyan.
UFC CEO Dana White was non-committal to Topuria vs. Pimblett being next for both rivals, meaning a UFC 319 showdown between Pimblett and Gaethje makes sense. Time will tell if Du Plessis’s claims will come to fruition.
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