Ilia Topuria Sets Up Instagram Poll to Decide Next Opponent, and There Looks to be One Clear Winner
Ilia Topuria has set up a poll on Instagram to decide his next opponent between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett.
Ilia Topuria is set to return in April next year, as the former lightweight champ confirmed the same in a recent interview with ABC.
The 29-year-old had his face badly battered in his last fight against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 back in June 2026. 'The Highlight' handed Topuria the first defeat in his MMA career, eventually winning the lightweight championship as well.
Only in mid-September was 'El Matador' cleared to fight, three months after the clash against Gaethje. With his return set for April next year, Topuria, in the same interview, almost made it clear that he would be fighting Paddy Pimblett next.
However, a poll he has now set up on Instagram hints that he might be considering a rematch against Gaethje as well.
Justin Gaethje Currently Leads Paddy Pimblett in Instagram Poll
Being one of the most-interacted MMA Instagram accounts, there has already been a boatload of responses to the poll. Within one hour of Topuria posting the poll (at the time of this writing), there have been over 46k responses.
Justin Gaethje holds a clear edge over Paddy Pimblett with 61% of the polling to his name.
Check out the poll set up by Ilia Topuria below:
Why Justin Gaethje Rematch Might Make More Sense Right Now
A rematch against Justin Gaethje makes more sense for Ilia Topuria because it gives him a chance to exact revenge, with the possibility of claiming the lightweight belt back as well.
As for Paddy Pimblett, Topuria's beef with the Englishman dates way back to early 2022 - the hand sanitizer incident. Although a win over the 'Baddy' would extinguish the flames of their long-standing off-the-cage rivalry, it might do nothing to 'El Matador's legacy, at least for now.
Pimblett is ranked number 5 in the lightweight rankings, but suffered his first UFC defeat at the hands of Gaethje, who later beat Topuria as well. Should Pimblett climb up the rankings, or strike UFC gold later, a bout against the Scouser would mean more for Topuria.
