Henry Cejudo believes it makes ‘perfect sense’ for Paddy Pimblett to fight Ilia Topuria next.
The former two-division UFC champion said Pimblett and Topuria’s long-term hatred for one another could be settled in the Octagon to set up a future title shot with lightweight king Islam Makhachev.
Pimblett is on the search for a top ranked lightweight opponent after disposing of Michael Chandler in the co-main event of UFC 314.
He picked Chandler apart at UFC 314 and forced a stoppage after three rounds in what was a dominant performance.
After the bout, the Liverpudlian mentioned Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier as the potential next step towards achieving his lifelong goal of a UFC title.
“This is how we win: we game plan, we use our fight IQ, and we beat m*****f****** up. [I want] anyone in the top four, top five. I want that world title,” he said.
However, Cejudo believes the stars have aligned for a fight between Pimblett and Topuria, who has just vacated his featherweight title to move up 10lbs and challenge for the lightweight title.
“He put a beating on Chandler,” Cejudo told fellow ex-UFC champion Kamaru Usman on Pound 4 Pound.
“[After the fight] he mentioned Dustin, he mentioned Gaetje… but the fight that would really make sense right now is Ilia Topuria.
“These guys have beef from back in the day. The storyline is there, they’re both stars in the UFC.”
Cejudo then explained how the fight could act as a No.1 contender to the lightweight title currently held by Makhachev, who is coached by UFC icon Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Topuria originally vacated his featherweight title after knocking out Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway to fight Makhachev for the 155lb title.
However, reports suggested the Spaniard was told he must fight a contender first, with many believing Khabib was at the forefront of those negotiations in terms of Makhachev’s next fight.
Makhachev has held the UFC lightweight title for nearly three years now, securing a vicious first-round submission win over Renato Moicano in January in his last defence of the belt.
“You got the champ and Ilia Topuria,” Cejudo added. “Then you got Paddy Pimblett, who has to pick one fight.
“If I’m the UFC, I’m booking Justin Gaethje vs Islam, because Khabib’s wish is that Ilia needs to fight the No.1 contender… he needs to fight somebody before he gets a damn title shot.
“And then I think you do Ilia Topuria on that fight, and whoever comes out on top gets the next title shot.
“It’s not just based on competition. The UFC is an entertainment company, who’s gonna bring in numbers? That’s Dana White.”
Usman agreed, saying Pimblett’s dominant victory over a former world champion like Michael Chandler gives him ‘immense confidence’ to take on someone like Topuria, who is undefeated in 16 pro MMA bouts, next.
He stated that Poirier could be another option, but if the UFC wants to put on ‘the biggest fight in the division’ then Topuria is the one.
“Paddy ‘The Baddy’ is up there, so far as notoriety and fame right now in that division,” Usman added. “So I like it, I think you hit the nail on the head.”
Usman then laid out his ideal match-ups for the lightweight division, where Gaethje fought Makhachev for the title, Pimblett took on Topuria, and Arman Tsarukyan faced Oliveira.
Pimblett has also gone back and forth with current No.1 contender Tsarukyan, who was replaced by Moicano at UFC 311 three months ago on 24 hours’ notice after injuring his back.
The Merseyside-born star labelled Tsarukyan ‘a little post boy’ ahead of UFC 314 to which the Armenian referenced Pimblett’s ‘budget Beatles haircut’ in response.
