Ilia Topuria has broken his silence on the first loss of his UFC career, and he is already naming his next target. The former two-division champion dropped his lightweight title to Justin Gaethje in June at UFC White House, falling by knockout in the fourth round. Now he says he wants Paddy Pimblett next, and he wants it in April.

According to a post circulating widely and picked up by fans on r/MMA, Topuria said, 'I've achieved everything, and after this fight, what else? Maybe I'll even retire. I'm coming back in April. Paddy, Paddy, Paddy.' That is a fighter talking about a comeback and a potential farewell run in the same breath, which is exactly the kind of storyline that gets a division buzzing.

The matchup makes sense on paper. Topuria still sits at number one in our lightweight rankings despite the loss, with an Elo rating of fifteen ninety-nine built off six tracked bouts. Topuria targeting a marquee name like Pimblett offers a massive spotlight for any return, giving both men plenty of incentive to push for the pairing.

The problem is Dana White does not sound like he is in a hurry. The UFC CEO has publicly predicted Topuria's return for early twenty twenty-seven, not April, a timeline multiple outlets have now reported. That leaves a real gap between what Topuria is calling for and what the promotion is actually planning, and it is worth watching whether Pimblett pushes for the fight on a faster clock than his boss seems willing to give him.