Paddy Pimblett Wants a Gaethje Rematch — and He's Ditching the Striking

Paddy Pimblett has figured out what went wrong against Justin Gaethje, and the fix is simple: stop trying to box one of the division's nastiest punchers. After dropping an interim lightweight title fight at UFC 324 in January, Pimblett says a rematch would look nothing like the first one — he'd shoot for a takedown inside the opening 10 seconds, plant Gaethje on his back, and hunt the choke. No ego, no firefight.

It's a self-aware pivot from a fighter who's spent his UFC run swapping leather he probably didn't need to swap. Pimblett rebounded from the Gaethje loss with a 52-second submission of Benoit Saint Denis, a reminder of where his real value lives. His finishing résumé reads like a grappling clinic: submission wins over King Green, Jordan Leavitt and Rodrigo Vargas, plus a ground-and-pound mauling of Michael Chandler.

The Line at Lightweight

The problem for Pimblett is the queue. Gaethje didn't just beat him — he went on to upset Ilia Topuria for the undisputed belt at UFC White House in June, which instantly reshuffled the division. Topuria wants revenge. No. 1 contender Arman Tsarukyan (24-3) is waiting. Even featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski (29-4) has floated a move up to challenge. That's a crowded front of the line, and Pimblett knows he's standing somewhere behind all of it.

There's also the question of whether Gaethje fights again at all. He turns 38 in November, and Pimblett doubts the champion will top the feeling of winning a belt on the South Lawn. He said his own coaches told him that if he'd been in that spot, they'd tell him to retire — there's nothing left to chase after a moment like that.

Topuria Can Wait

Pimblett and Topuria have real history — trash talk, scuffles, the works — but the timing never lined up while Topuria was still campaigning at 145. Now they're in the same weight class, and the grudge is sitting right there. Pimblett says he'd still take Gaethje over Topuria, not because the hatred has cooled, but because Gaethje has the belt and the belt is the whole point.

That's the clearest thing to come out of this: Pimblett's priority is the title, not the vendetta. He's wanted undisputed gold since he was a teenager, and he's willing to run it back with the man who already beat him to get it. Whether Gaethje — or anyone ahead of Pimblett — gives him the chance in 2027 is another matter entirely.