Sean O’Malley has weighed in on a potential blockbuster fight between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett, and, surprisingly, he is leaning toward the Englishman. ‘El Matador’ and Pimblett have been on a collision course for years, dating back to their infamous confrontation at a London hotel in March 2022.

Now that both men are hunting for their next big opportunity to get their hands on the lightweight crown, a fight between them could be on the horizon. The latest speculation came from O’Malley’s longtime coach Tim Welch, who said that he has heard “rumblings” about the UFC perhaps scheduling a fight between the two bitter rivals for December.

“Rumor has it, though, that, I mean, I’m seeing rumblings of it, that in December, Ilia Topuria versus Paddy Pimblett,” Welch said on Sean O’Malley’s YouTube channel.

And as expected, ‘Suga’ immediately recognized just how massive the matchup would be.

“Oh! Wowzers,” he exclaimed. “That would be huge. That’d be in Vegas, probably. That would be sick. That’d be a massive f—— fight. Even Ilia coming off this loss, that would be a massive f—– fight.”

His coach then asked the former UFC bantamweight champion to pick a winner if he had $10,000 to bet on the fight. Sean O’Malley said that Ilia Topuria’s mental state is difficult to assess after losing his first professional fight to Justin Gaethje in June.

He feels the Spaniard will return with a vengeance. However, the size difference could be one of the biggest talking points surrounding the potential matchup.

“Right now, I’d probably lean towards Paddy,” O’Malley said in the video. “I don’t know. It’s hard to say. That seems like a coin flip for me. It’s hard to see where Ilia is at mentally. He could be; I still think he’s going to come back and just going to tear to bits, but Paddy’s also so f—– big, confident. He’s a f—— scowzer, and scowzers don’t get knocked out.

“They would look like completely different weight classes. Paddy looks like a 70, Ilia looks like a fifty fiver. Just because the height, but like thickness. Ilia is fifty fiver, but he’s just not very tall, man.”

Ilia Topuria stands 5-foot-7, while ‘The Baddy’ is listed at 5-foot-10 and is very buffed-up and muscular, making Sean O’Malley believe that the physical difference will be even more obvious inside the Octagon.

Paddy Pimblett‘s case for another major win was strengthened by his swift submission of Benoit Saint Denis in July. The win followed his unsuccessful effort to win the interim lightweight title against Justin Gaethje in January this year.

‘El Matador,’ meanwhile, is trying to recover after suffering his first career setback at the White House in June. His side has pushed for an immediate rematch, but ‘The Highlight’ has made it clear that he would not give Topuria a second chance until he proves himself again.

That leaves the Spanish-Georgian with an unsure next step, and ‘The Baddy’ might provide the type of high-profile bout that would immediately reintroduce both men into title contention.

The animosity between them just makes the possible showdown more attractive. Their blood feud began after Pimblett made some very controversial comments about Georgians, which led to Ilia Topuria confronting ‘The Baddy’ on fight week at UFC London in 2022, and the dispute got physical until security intervened.

The pair have continued to trade insults over the years since then, keeping their rivalry alive even as their respective careers took different directions. Sean O’Malley now believes the fight will be close enough for the matchup to be very interesting. But if he had to bet on it, he would lean toward Paddy Pimblett.

However, it is worth noting that while Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria may appear to be obvious opponents, not everyone believes the UFC will actually make the fight.

Arman Tsarukyan doubts UFC will make Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett

Arman Tsarukyan recently addressed the possibility during an interview on the Deep Waters podcast when he was asked to play matchmaker. After announcing himself as the next challenger to Justin Gaethje’s lightweight belt, ‘Ahalkalakets’ named Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett as another bout he’d want to see.

However, the Armenian feels the promotion may be hesitant to place either man in such a risky fight because both are still significant names in the lightweight division.

“Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett. That fight makes sense, but I don’t think they are gonna do that fight,” Tsarukyan said. “They don’t want Paddy to lose. They don’t want Ilia to lose again, so they are gonna give Ilia someone easy.

“I feel like they want Paddy to fight for the title again, so they are gonna give him an easy money fight.”

As of now, there is no official confirmation that Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett will meet in December. However, with Sean O’Malley backing ‘The Baddy,’ Arman Tsarukyan questioning whether the UFC will make the fight, and both stars in need of a major next chapter, the possibility is becoming increasingly difficult for fans to ignore.