Pimblett draws sharp line between Tsarukyan and Topuria: 'No respect at all' versus old beef

Paddy Pimblett has made clear he wants either Arman Tsarukyan or Ilia Topuria next, but the Liverpool lightweight is drawing a firm distinction between the two — one he respects enough to genuinely dislike, and one he doesn’t respect at all.

“If I fight Ilia or Arman, I’m gonna absolutely rinse their lives. I’m gonna absolutely terrorize them,” Pimblett said. “But if I fight Max Holloway or Charles Oliveira, I wouldn’t, because I respect them and I like them.”

Pimblett was careful to separate his feelings toward Topuria from those toward Tsarukyan. Despite the years of public friction with the Georgian champion, he acknowledged a grudging admiration for his skills. “Don’t get me wrong, I respect Ilia, but we’ve had beef for years,” he said. “I think he’s a little helmet. I’d love to fight him and give him shit.”

Tsarukyan received no such nuance. “Arman Tsarukyan, I’ve got no respect for at all. He’s just a rich kid whose daddy’s a millionaire,” Pimblett added.

The comments come on the back of Pimblett’s return to form at UFC 329 in July, where he submitted Benoit St. Denis to get back in the win column. The victory re-established him as a credible contender in a lightweight division that remains unsettled at the top.

Tsarukyan is next in action on September 19 at UFC 331, where he faces Mauricio Ruffy in the co-main event — a result that could sharpen or soften Pimblett’s case for that matchup depending on how it plays out.

Topuria, meanwhile, is without a scheduled fight after suffering the first loss of his career against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. That defeat leaves his trajectory uncertain, though a fight with Pimblett — given the history between them — would carry its own commercial logic regardless of ranking.