Dana White shoots down any notion that Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett was supposed to happen next.
Pimblett has been making some noise as of late as the UFC Lightweight complained about Topuria not signing the contract so they could finally fight.
"At the minute, I'm struggling to get a fight," Topuria told Marca. "People talk behind the scenes saying, 'I want to fight him. I want to fight him.' But when they get offered the fight, they don't take it. I'm just sitting in limbo, waiting for a fight. I thought I was going to fight Justin Gaethje in Abu Dhabi in October, but he's sitting out. Dan Hooker is fighting Arman Tsarukyan. Charles just fought Gamrot. There's no one really for me to fight apart from Ilia Topuria.
Hopefully that fight gets sorted. I think it would've been sorted by now if he would've signed the contract, but he's stalling. He's another one that talks a big game on the camera, but when it comes to signing the contract, he won't write his name on it."
Topuria has remained silent on the situation, but Dana White has put the rumors about this fight to rest. Speaking to TNT Fight Sports, Dana understands the potential of this fight between Pimblett and Topuria, but that bout is not currently in the works.
“We’re always exploring lots of different things,” White said. “Listen, obviously it’s a fun fight, people would like to see that. But I don’t know.
As of right now, no, we haven’t made that fight. We’re trying to figure out what’s next for Topuria.”
Pimblett is currently ranked at number six within the lightweight division. While a fight against Topuria seems like a no brainer based on the bad blood these two share and the star power here, Pimblett will likely have to win an eliminator fight first before jumping into number one contender status.
Topuria has called out Pimblett in the past so he’s not afraid to step into the octagon against him. Pimblett did mention that he was originally going to fight Justin Gaethje, so that’s likely the next fight for him. Of course, that’s just pure speculation on my end. Nevertheless, Topuria vs. Pimblett doesn’t seem to be on the card for January as many reported, but it’s certainly not too late as no fight has been confirmed in 2026.
Do you think Topuria vs. Pimblett will happen next?