Paddy Pimblett sees two options for his next fight if the UFC doesn’t book him opposite Ilia Topuria immediately.
Pimblett was a prominent talking point in the aftermath of last Saturday’s UFC 317 pay-per-view despite not competing at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
After Ilia Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira to claim the vacant lightweight title, ‘The Baddy’ entered the Octagon to face off with his longtime rival.
While that might have set the stage for the Spaniard’s first defense, many have pushed back on the notion that Pimblett’s dominant win over Michael Chandler warrants a title shot next.
Should the UFC agree with that sentiment, Pimblett sees two potential contenders who could be placed between him and Topuria’s gold.
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Paddy Pimblett includes Dan Hooker on list of potential next opponents
Before the events of UFC 317, Pimblett pointed to Justin Gaethje as his likely opponent in a title eliminator. But the American’s willingness to face a fellow contender was thrown up in the air when his manager claimed he would retire if not given the next title shot.
With that, the Scouser may need to look elsewhere — and there aren’t a whole lot of options.
During a recent appearance on Eric Nicksick’s Verse Us podcast, Pimblett reiterated that Gaethje remains top of his list should he miss out on an immediate chance at dethroning Topuria.
Beyond ‘The Highlight’, Pimblett doesn’t see much else aside from Dan Hooker.
“It would more than likely be Gaethje, to be honest,” Pimblett said. “I don’t think anyone cares about watching Arman Tsarukyan fight…no one gives a f— about him.
“I reckon it would be Gaethje. Obviously, (Dustin) Poirier’s retiring. (Max) Holloway’s gonna have a f—— war with him, so obviously he’s not fighting for a few months.
“Dan Hooker, maybe,” Pimblett added.
Hooker has been sidelined through injury since breaking back into title contention with a victory over Mateusz Gamrot in Australia last August. He was originally set to face Gaethje this year before suffering an injury setback.
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Paddy Pimblett urges UFC to book first real grudge match since Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor
In an ideal world for Pimblett, he wouldn’t even have to go through either Gaethje or Hooker to find himself competing with UFC gold on the line for the first time.
‘The Baddy’ made the case for his title shot in the aftermath of UFC 317 by insisting that his clash with Topuria would mark the only time a real feud has reached the Octagon since Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor’s heated rivalry.
“I’m always ready to do that (face off). We’ve got history,” Pimblett said. “You don’t even need to sell that fight, it sells itself. Two people who genuinely dislike each other.
“You don’t really see that. We haven’t seen that since Khabib and McGregor. Two people who actually hate each other because I hate him. I wouldn’t even want to finish him fast. I’d want to finish him with a minute left in the fight after I’ve elbowed him 700 times. I want to disfigure him.”
Whether or not that will sway the UFC in Pimblett’s favor, though, remains to be seen.