Ilia Topuria Targets April Return, Names Paddy Pimblett Next — and Says the Defeat Lengthened His Career

Topuria broke five months of silence in an interview with ABC, naming April 2027 as his return window and Pimblett as the probable next opponent — and saying the Gaethje loss changed his whole perception, with two or three fights still to come.

Ilia Topuria has named his return: from April 2027 onwards, against Paddy Pimblett — and he says the defeat that cost him his title has lengthened his career rather than shortened it.

The former two-division champion gave his first public interview since losing to Justin Gaethje to Spain's ABC, speaking from Georgia five months after the defeat. The interview was conducted in Spanish; the quotes here are translated.

"From April onwards, we are considering a return," Topuria said. On the opponent, he was direct: "Paddy, Paddy, Paddy, I will eat him like the sausage that he is."

Topuria also revealed he had been thinking about retirement before the loss — "I have achieved everything. And after this fight, what else? Maybe I'll even retire" — but only if he had beaten Gaethje. The defeat changed that. Asked whether it will lengthen his career, he said it changed his whole perception: he is more motivated, with different objectives, and the flame is now bigger. The interview's introduction states plainly that retirement is not the case for him. Asked how many fights remain, he answered: two or three more, for sure.

If he could choose, Topuria said his first pick would be the Gaethje rematch — "I would choose the rematch against Justin Gaethje" — though he added he does not want to force it. He also named Arman Tsarukyan as another possibility. Pimblett remains the probable next opponent: the interview frames him as the likely April fight.

The loss he is coming back from was the worst day of his career, by his own account. Gaethje stopped him by TKO at 5:00 of the fourth round at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14, 2026, at the White House in Washington, D.C., taking Topuria's lightweight title after his corner threw in the towel between rounds. Topuria entered the fight 17-0 and left 17-1, his first professional loss. He suffered fractures to both orbital bones, a broken septum and a fractured foot, and was handed a 180-day medical suspension with 60 days of no contact.

Topuria announced on September 16 that his final medical tests were done and he was back, and he has since returned to training. His coach, Jesus Gallo, had pointed to a February 2027 return; Topuria's own word now is April onwards.

UFC president Dana White confirmed this week on The Jim Rome Show that Topuria will be back in 2027 and the promotion is working on it. But no date, venue or opponent has been announced, and the promotion has not finalized the fight. April is a window, not a booking.

Pimblett, for his part, fits the timeline. The Liverpudlian is ranked No. 5 at lightweight, 24-4 overall and 8-1 in the UFC, and he submitted Benoit Saint-Denis with a D'Arce choke in 52 seconds at UFC 329 in July. He lost a unanimous decision to Gaethje for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 in January 2026, has ruled out fighting in January, and has floated March or April 2027 for his own return while he undergoes stem-cell treatment. He has spent months calling for Topuria, saying Topuria is the only name left for him.

The rivalry is old. The two clashed at the fighters' hotel at UFC London in March 2022 — the same night Topuria knocked out Jai Herbert — and faced off again after Topuria beat Charles Oliveira at UFC 317. As of Friday morning, Pimblett has not publicly responded to the ABC interview.

Topuria's pedigree is the reason the return matters. He won the featherweight title by knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298, defended it against Max Holloway at UFC 308, vacated it to move up, and won the vacant lightweight title by knocking out Oliveira in the first round at UFC 317. Gaethje, who beat Pimblett for the interim belt and then Topuria to become undisputed champion, holds the title Topuria wants back.

There is one loose end from the loss. Topuria briefly suggested after the fight that Gaethje's gloves should have been checked. He has since walked it back, saying Gaethje "was a better man that night" and that he wants the rematch someday.

For now, the shape of 2027 is Topuria's own: April, Pimblett — and then two or three more fights, with the flame bigger than before.