Paddy Pimblett thinks a title fight with Ilia Topuria would rival the biggest grudge matches in UFC history.

After Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) knocked out Charles Oliveira in Saturday’s UFC 317 headliner to become new lightweight champion, Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) entered the octagon for a tense staredown that ended with Topuria pushing away “The Baddy.”

UFC CEO Dana White said post-fight that he didn’t approve of the faceoff and would not commit to Pimblett challenging for the belt next, but Topuria was insistent that he has a score to settle with Pimblett that dates back several years to a fight week encounter in London.

Pimblett expect that he will get the next shot, and he said the bad blood with Pimblett is as real as it gets, comparing it to perhaps the most infamous rivalry in MMA history between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

“You don’t even need to sell that fight – it sells itself,” Pimblett said on ESPN’s UFC 317 post-fight show. “Two people who genuinely dislike each other. We don’t really get that. We haven’t seen that since Khabib and McGregor, two people who actually hate each other. Because I hate him. I wouldn’t want to finish him fast, I would want to finish him with a minute left in the fight after I’ve elbowed him 700 times. I’d want to disfigure him.”

Ilia Topuria reacts to Dana White being unhappy with his Paddy Pimblett faceoff at #UFC317.

“But he wasn’t there. So that has to happen.” 😂 pic.twitter.com/iL6QV12zGP

— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) June 29, 2025

Pimblett said he thrives off tension with an opponent, and thinks not only that heat with Topuria would bring out the best of him, but also the fact he would likely enter the octagon as a significant betting underdog.

“I’m more motivated when I’m like that, especially the fact that everyone thinks I’ll lose,” Pimblett said. “Everyone thinks I’ll lose. Nine out of 10 people probably think he’ll knock me out. I love proving people wrong. It just gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling inside making people eat their own words.

“I cannot wait. I can’t be booked with anyone else now. It’s a simple as that. I am fighting him next and I am going to take his little head off for him.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC 317: Paddy Pimblett intends to ‘disfigure’ Ilia Topuria, hates him