Paddy Pimblett is eyeing a clash with Justin Gaethje in October to earn a shot at the UFC lightweight title.
However, Pimblett believes he could end up bypassing the human highlight reel and go straight for the belt if Ilia Topuria beats Charles Oliveira to become champion at UFC 317.
“I know for a fact if I beat Gaethje, I’m next in line. Definitely. It could be (the next fight),” Pimblett told TNT Sports.
“It’s just if he says yeah or not. Because he’s fighting down the rankings again.
“Abu Dhabi. October. That pay-per-view. That’s when I want to fight. That’s what I’ll be gearing towards.
“After what I’ve done to (Michael) Chandler, I think I finish Justin Gaethje…
“Yeah, that’d be nice [to fight Gaethje].
“But I was thinking about it the other day: It’s probably better if Ilia wins the belt, because he’ll probably call me out and then I could just fight him.
“Maybe I wouldn’t even fight Gaethje, [and I could] just fight Topuria…
“It’d be far better for my career if Ilia wins because I’d, more than likely, be his first title defence.”
Pimblett is coming off a career-best win over Michael Chandler and is currently ranked No.8 at 155lbs.
Usually, a fighter would have to break into the top five to get a shot at UFC gold, so No.3-ranked Gaethje serves as the perfect springboard to a title opportunity for Pimblett.
However, the UFC are also big on storylines, and there aren’t many better ones than Topuria vs Pimblett.
Their genuine animosity for one another boiled over in a heated altercation at a hotel in London three years ago.
Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitiser at Topuria’s head, prompting the Spaniard to throw a punch in reply.
UFC security kept them apart throughout fight week when they landed on the same card five months later at UFC 282.
However, that didn’t stop them from getting into a shouting match at the pre-fight press conference, with Topuria standing up and making his way over to Pimblett before security intervened.
Over the last couple of years, their beef has been confined to social media, but both men would no doubt jump at the opportunity to settle their score if the opportunity presented itself.
