Paddy Pimblett believes UFC Freedom 250’s main event might bring an unexpected result. The fight, scheduled for June 14 at the White House, will feature Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje in a title unification match for the lightweight championship.
Topuria has been dominant in recent fights, while Gaethje won the interim belt by defeating Pimblett at UFC 324. Pimblett shared his thoughts on the upcoming matchup on his YouTube channel.
“My two mates in the main event,” Pimblett said. “Ilia did say he was going to come back around this time, so June is perfect for him, and obviously Justin Gaethje said when he was fighting me he wants to beat me and then go on to fight on the White House, and he’s done it. So hat’s off to him, he’s done it. That’s a scrap, they’re going to come out and try to take each other’s heads off. Everyone’s already counting Gaethje out, and we’ve already learned that you can’t do that. I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that Gaethje might pull off an upset here and surprise everyone, but as you know, it’s a fist fight.
“It could go either way. Anyone could beat anyone. In the White House, he’s probably going to have a little bit more motivation to go out there and win because it’s in front of his president and his home country. We’ll have to see how that one plays out because obviously it’s big implications for the rest of the division. I’m obviously going to be watching that. I’ll have my eye on that, but I’m going to be focused on whoever I get to fight next. Hopefully I’m going to find out the next few weeks when my next fight will be, and hopefully it’s around that time, around June or July.”
Topuria Enters as Strong Favorite
Ilia Topuria comes into the fight on a hot streak, having scored knockouts over Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira. He is widely seen as a favorite to win against Gaethje, but Pimblett’s comments suggest that anything could happen inside the cage.
Fans worldwide will be watching closely on June 14 to see if Gaethje can overcome the odds in this high-stakes matchup that could have major implications for the UFC lightweight division.
