Topuria: Pimblett 1 win from UFC title shot

Ilia Topuria believes Paddy Pimblett needs one more victory to deserve a crack at the UFC lightweight championship.

Topuria, a former featherweight champion, is scheduled to face Charles Oliveira for the vacant 155-pound title in the UFC 317 main event Saturday in Las Vegas. If Topuria wins, a long-awaited matchup with Pimblett figures to be a massive draw at the box office, but the 28-year-old said he won't grant Pimblett a title shot unless he beats another top contender first.

"No, that's not gonna happen," Topuria said Monday on "The Ariel Helwani Show" when asked about Pimblett potentially getting an immediate title shot after UFC 317. "He's one fight away for the title shot. He needs, actually, that fight. Because it's gonna be even better for our fight if he gets one more win. We're gonna have, I think, the biggest fight in the UFC right now, at the moment."

Topuria and Pimblett have a long history. In 2022, they got into an altercation at a hotel just days before they were scheduled to compete at the same UFC event in London. Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria.

Their careers went in separate directions after the incident, but three years later, they appear to be back on a collision course. Topuria vacated the 145-pound belt in December to move up to the lightweight division, and Pimblett emerged as a top 155-pound contender at UFC 314 in April with a dominant win over Michael Chandler.

Topuria said he would like to see Pimblett face former interim champion Justin Gaethje in his next bout. Gaethje and Pimblett are ranked No. 3 and No. 8 in the division, respectively.

"I think (Pimblett is) gonna beat him easily," Topuria said.

He added: "It's not like I don't like Justin Gaethje. I'm actually a huge fan of all of his fights. ... He's one of those guys that takes a lot of punches and throws a lot of punches. I love to watch him fight. But I think that Paddy could get that win easily because of the style."