Pimblett: Prime McGregor would KO Topuria

Paddy Pimblett would favor a prime Conor McGregor against current UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria.

Pimblett, a top-ranked lightweight contender, said he believes McGregor would knock out Topuria if they met in the Octagon at the peaks of their careers.

"You see some people saying now (Topuria is) better than McGregor. But he's not," Pimblett said on Thursday's episode of the "UFC Unfiltered" podcast. "In the prime, at the same time, McGregor would've knocked him out with a straight left."

Topuria claimed the vacant lightweight title with a ferocious first-round knockout of former champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last weekend in Las Vegas. Topuria, one of the top knockout artists in MMA, has drawn comparisons to McGregor throughout his rise, especially after joining the 36-year-old Irishman as the only two fighters in UFC history to win both the featherweight and lightweight titles.

Topuria and Pimblett faced off in the cage after the UFC 317 main event, though the promotion has yet to confirm if that will be the next lightweight title fight.

Pimblett, whose history with Topuria dates back to 2022, criticized the champion for trying to act like McGregor outside the Octagon and using similar trash talk.

"He's trying to be Conor McGregor, isn't he?" Pimblett said. "He's got the same tattoos, he's got the - he even said the other day, 'I'm gonna put my balls on your forehead' to me, which is what McGregor said to Chad Mendes. He's literally - he's just a carbon copy of McGregor. Some people can't see through that."