Paddy Pimblett comments on lightweight division situation and reveals return date

Paddy Pimblett commented on the situation in the lightweight division and revealed a potential date for his return to the UFC octagon.

Paddy Pimblett followed the events of the UFC 322 gala with great interest. The Englishman realizes that the outcome of the event in New York, as well as the results that will take place on Saturday in Qatar, will have a significant impact on the further fate of the two weight divisions in the UFC.

We are, of course, talking about the lightweight and welterweight categories. All thanks to the fact that Islam Makhachev reached for the championship belt of the division up to 77 kilograms, and Ilya Topuria has long announced that he would like to face the Dagestan.

The snag is that there is no shortage of strong contenders in the welterweight division, and the number one contender in the lightweight category may be determined by the Tsarukyan vs Hooker clash. Paddy Pimblett talked about his situation and what is currently happening in the lightweight division on his youtube channel.

– Ilya says he is moving up to welterweight to fight Islam, but there are other contenders in that division. We will see what decisions Islam will make and whether Topuria will stick to his word and go higher. But maybe he will stay and fight me? Now we don’t know what will happen. I can fight Ilia, and I can fight Justin Gaethje, and I honestly thought it would happen in Abu Dhabi. Regardless of the decisions of others I will fight in early 2026.

As you can see, Paddy plans to return early next year. He mentioned only two names among potential rivals, namely Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.