Ilia Topuria Responds to The Ultimate Fighter Rumors Involving Paddy Pimblett

The former lightweight champion says he's open to the idea, despite his longtime rival recently suggesting that he would be too afraid to accept it.

Topuria Addresses The Ultimate Fighter Rumors

A day ago, British MMA broadcaster Adam Catterall brought up The Ultimate Fighter pairing rumors while interviewing Topuria for One on One MMA. The Georgain-Spaniard admitted that he had heard about the idea but made it known that the promotion had not approached him.

"Nothing official. I didn't spoke with anyone from the UFC, just to clear it up," Topuria said.

However, "El Matador" did not rule out a possibility, adding:

 "But yeah, it's something that could happen. Why not?"

The 29-year-old has been out of action since losing his lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at UFC's White House event in June. 

Ilia Topuria also revealed that he will start training in January and will make his return sometime between April and June. Hearing that Catterall suggested that his return timeline could work for the season of TUF, with both the fighters coaching opposing teams before eventually meeting inside the octagon.

While the Spaniard believed a fight with "The Baddy" would rile up massive attention, he claimed that his drawing power would financially benefit any fighter he faces off against.

"Because now they are going to face a man that saw everything in this sport," he added.

Topuria and Pimblett Could Bring Back a Familiar TUF Format

The Ultimate Fighter has previously featured retired UFC stars as coaches. In its last two seasons, Daniel Cormier coached against Chael Sonnen in Season 33, and then the former returned to coach against Michael Bisping in Season 34. Since all three UFC stars had already retired, neither of the seasons ended with a fight between the coaches.

Therefore, a potential matchup between Topuria and Pimblett would be different. Both the fighters are still active UFC lightweights, so fans and the MMA community could finally see them fight after spending several weeks coaching opposite teams.

However, while the rumors sound exciting, the UFC would still have to fit the proposed matchup into its lightweight plans. Furthermore, Dana White recently confirmed that the promotion is working on "El Matador's" comeback but hasn't yet named an opponent.