Paddy
Pimblett claims he hasn't been offered a fight against Ilia
Topuria amidst rumors the two could square off next.

Sean
O’Malley's coach, Tim Welch,
recently claimed to have heard rumors of a potential matchup
between Pimblett (24-4) and Topuria (17-1) being in the works for
December. However, while “The Baddy†admittedly wants to return in
December, he says he hasn't been offered Topuria and is open to
fighting any of the top lightweights in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Paddy Pimblett says UFC hasn’t approached him about Ilia
Topuria fight

Pimblett claims he hasn't been approached by the UFC about a
potential Topuria fight, but is open to taking on the former
two-division champ next, in addition to Arman
Tsarukyan, Mauricio
Ruffy, Charles
Oliveira and current champ Justin
Gaethje.

“I'd love to smash [Ilia's] head in, lad, but we need to wait and
see. No one spoke to me about it,†Pimblett told Eze Obasi. “[I
could fight] Arman, Gaethje, Ruffy, Charles. There's loads of
names. If I fight against this year, it'll be December,
hopefully.â€

Pimblett and Topuria have a longstanding rivalry, sparked by the
Brit's comments about Georgia, the latter's native country.
Moreover, Pimblett refers to Topuria as “sanitizer boy†after
throwing a bottle of hand sanitizer at him at the London fighter
hotel in 2022. They've also clashed at press conferences since then
and publicly mocked one another for their title losses to
Gaethje.

Khamzat
Chimaev's hit list for his next fight has been cut in half.

“Borz†had recently shortlisted Sean
Strickland, Nassourdine
Imavov, Dricus Du
Plessis and Caio
Borralho for his next fight. Borralho had accepted Chimaev's
callout, proposing a matchup in November at Madison Square Garden.
Chimaev's stance has now changed.

Chimaev says UFC told him Caio Borralho and Dricus Du Plessis
are injured

Chimaev claims the UFC recently informed him that Borralho and du
Plessis are currently injured. Meanwhile, Imavov is expected to
challenge Strickland for the UFC middleweight title next. While
Chimaev acknowledged Imavov as a deserving contender, he will be
ready to face either “The Sniper†or Strickland if their title
fight doesn't come to fruition.

“I call out everyone,†Chimaev told Red Corner MMA. “I want to come
back as soon as possible. Earlier, I said that I want to return in
October, and I called Hunter. They told me that Caio and du Plessis
are injured. We'll see what happens; I don't know exactly. Maybe
Imavov and Strickland won't fight and I will be ready.â€

Chimaev (15-1) won the middleweight title with a dominant unanimous
decision win over du Plessis last year. “Borz†was a massive
favorite going into his first title defense against Strickland this
past May. However, Chimaev evidently fatigued and suffered his
first professional loss against Strickland in a massive upset.
While UFC CEO Dana
White had initially said that Chimaev wanted to move up, the
Chechen-born fighter has reiterated his desire to stay at 185
pounds.

Finally someone called my name! My brother u
know I love you, and I'm ready MSG November or T Mobile December!
Just let me know â¤ï¸ https://t.co/wKL2mq4tZe

— Caio
Borralho (@BorralhoCaio)
August 31, 2026

🚨Khamzat
Chimaev says he won't face either Caio
Borralho or Dricus Du
Plessis in his next fight. Talking to Red Corner MMA after his
RAF victory in Moscow, Borz expressed hope of facing Sean
Strickland or Nassourdine
Imavov if their fight falls through. pic.twitter.com/noOlM7russ

— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
September 6, 2026

The UFC was in Paris, France, on Saturday for a solid UFC Paris card. The main event saw lightweight contenders throw down as Salahdine Parnasse took on Dan Hooker.

Parnasse was making his UFC debut in the main event in his home country, France. He's the former KSW featherweight and lightweight champ and had plenty of hype entering the bout. Hooker, meanwhile, was on a two-fight losing skid and was coming off a TKO loss to Benoit Saint Denis.

Ultimately, it was Parnasse who had a statement win as he scored a first-round TKO over Hooker to win his UFC debut in style. Following UFC Paris, here is what I think should be next for the lightweight contenders.

Salahdine Parnasse

Salahdine Parnasse made a statement at UFC Paris on Saturday. He entered the bout as the betting favorite, and he showed why as he dominated Hooker. He landed a great body shot and he and he swarmed him to get a big TKO win.

With the win, Parnasse should be getting someone near the top-five as he's an exciting addition to the lightweight division. He called to face Max Holloway next, and that fight makes a lot of sense. Holloway vs. Parnasse would be a great co-main event on a numbered event where the winner could be in the title conversation.

Dan Hooker

Dan Hooker went into enemy territory at UFC Paris as he welcomed Salahdine Parnasse to the UFC. Hooker entered the bout extremely confident, and he did look good until he got hurt to the body, which was the beginning of the end.

Hooker has now lost three straight fights and is a gatekeeper at this stage of his career. Hooker should be in fun fights, and a bout against Renato Moicano, whether he beats Brian Ortega or not, makes sense. Both are big names and fun fighters, as it'd be a fun fight for however long it lasts.

What do you think should be next for Salahdine Parnasse and Dan Hooker after UFC Paris?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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