Not everyone is ready to call UFC 317 main event winner Ilia Topuria the unrivaled best at 155 pounds.
Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira in the main event of this past Saturday’s pay-per-view at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena, ensuring he would be the one to succeed Islam Makhachev as champion.
An option for the Spaniard’s first defense quickly emerged, as Topuria and Pimblett faced off in an Octagon altercation that turned physical.
Should that fight happen down the line with the lightweight championship at stake, Pimblett’s coach doesn’t think his fighter would be challenging the division’s best.
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Paddy Pimblett’s coach insists Islam Makhachev is still the best lightweight, not Ilia Topuria
After Pimblett staked his claim for the first shot at making Topuria’s title reign a short one, the Scouser’s coach spoke about the new champion during an interview with Submission Radio.
Paul Rimmer, who trains the likes of ‘The Baddy’ at Next Generation MMA in Liverpool, revealed that he does not consider Topuria to be the world’s best lightweight after UFC 317.
According to Pimblett’s coach, that crown “undeniably” still sits on the head of Makhachev.
“If we were offered the two fights, Ilia and (Makhachev), I would be more worried about the (Makhachev) fight than the Ilia fight.
“Islam, for me, is the guy in the division, the undefeated guy in the division. … He is undeniably the best lightweight in the world.”
Ilia Topuria has been backed to KO Islam Makhachev at welterweight
With Makhachev moving up to the welterweight division, Topuria likely will not get the chance to prove Pimblett’s coach wrong.
But that doesn’t mean the highly anticipated battle with the Dagestani is completely off the table.
Though Topuria promised the UFC he wouldn’t request a welterweight move to chase down Makhachev, many are expecting ‘El Matador’ to eventually look to realize his three-division dreams.
And should Makhachev be on the throne when he gets there, UFC Hall of Famer Jens Pulver is predicting Topuria to KO the ex-lightweight king.
“I told you,” Pulver said during a watch along to UFC 317 on the UFC Fight Pass YouTube channel. “He’s gonna knock them all out; that combination. Jab to the belly, boom, boom, those hooks inside, over!
“He’s gonna knock out Makhachev. I told you, he’s gonna go up to Makhachev, he’s gonna knock him out. That’s his goal.
“Dude, he didn’t just knock (Oliveira) out, he hurt him, he hurt him bad. He knocked him unconscious. … He hits too hard.”