Paddy Pimblett: 'Midget' Ilia Topuria Would Feel Size Difference Against Me

[Doughie99]

I'll be honest, as a boxing guy who is used to watching elite boxers, I'm not really seeing this incredible handspeed. Even with bigger heavier boxing gloves, most elite boxers are much faster.

One of the only MMA fighters who truly lived up to his speedy reputation, at least in regards to handspeed, was actually prime Cody. And going back years, prime Belfort.

Topuria's main weapon is simply power imo. He's one of the few MMA fighters who does have proper explosive KO power in his hands. But in addition to that, he is very well rounded and solid, with a good chin. But yeah, it's mainly power and knowing when to throw, good timing and instincts on power shots and combos. That's what has enabled him to just KO 3 elite fighters in a row.

Gotta say he's also ACCURATE.

He finds the chin repeatedly. Volkanovski , Max, Oliveira.

The "problem" with topuria (from his opponents point of view) is that taking him down to the mat probably won't work either as he is very good there too.

So...I just see Topuria reigning for a while.
How topueia vs makhachev would go I really don't know and I don't thinknUFC are on ANY hurry to do that fight as they don't want either guys record to be "damaged".
UFC will keep them separate.

Topuria vs Tsarukyan is the fight at 155lbs I'm very interested in but........Dana for whatever reason holds things against tsarukyan.

 

[Söze Aldo]

Patty is right, at a certain point size and strength just completely overwhelms skill. There's a video Bas Rutten was in of Hafthor completely shutting down a blackbelt from top position, and Brian Shaw did the same with Dustin Poirier.

Paddy is the same size as the last two guys Ilia KOd, just because he eats like Brian Shaw between fights doesn't mean he's Brian Shaw.

 

[The XL]

Size doesn't mean much when you have a significant power and speed disadvantage.

 

[The XL]

Patty is right, at a certain point size and strength just completely overwhelms skill. There's a video Bas Rutten was in of Hafthor completely shutting down a blackbelt from top position, and Brian Shaw did the same with Dustin Poirier.

Brian Shaw has over 200lbs of muscle on Dustin Poirier. I'm not even sure if Paddy has more lean body tissue on him than Ilia does.

Ilia isn't as small as people make him out to be. He's a lean 170lbs in the cage and carries it extremely well. He's short, but that's only one dimension of size. No one really thinks that George Roop is bigger than Daniel Cormier, despite him being about 4 inches taller.

 

[kuroro]

Paddy would be a live dog. Idk why people act like he has no chance.

he's mediocrity personified

 

[FlowchartRog]

Gotta say he's also ACCURATE.

He finds the chin repeatedly. Volkanovski , Max, Oliveira.

The "problem" with topuria (from his opponents point of view) is that taking him down to the mat probably won't work either as he is very good there too.

So...I just see Topuria reigning for a while.
How topueia vs makhachev would go I really don't know and I don't thinknUFC are on ANY hurry to do that fight as they don't want either guys record to be "damaged".
UFC will keep them separate.

Topuria vs Tsarukyan is the fight at 155lbs I'm very interested in but........Dana for whatever reason holds things against tsarukyan.

Agreed. You are right with your second point, of course a solid go to plan Vs elite or very dangerous strikers is simply take them down. Seemingly that's not so simple at all with Topuria, he's extremely lucky in that sense, not only is he hard to take down, but has solid wrestling/grappling. He's obviously comfortable on the mat, and is not going to be a fish out of water even if someone does get him down. That's rare for someone with his striking prowess. I guess having a wrestling/grappling background is serving him well.

And yes he is accurate. He has raw power, but he's certainly no Ngannou, throwing wild, clubbing, caveman punches.

It's weird though, as his shots don't really look like that textbook and refined, like classic straight down the pipe counters etc. Yet, he sure does have a knack of landing hard shots on the button doesn't he? He has good instincts and timing and accuracy, and well, combined with the raw power, has just netted him 3 epic KO wins.

Topuria Vs Makhachev is obviously the fight I'd be most interested in yeah. Despite looking very undersized, it seems obvious that Ilia probably cleans up at 155 too.

If the UFC did decide to make that fight and Makhachev moved back down, who would you pick?

 

[Sticko]

Why is this fight even being talked about? I dont follow as well anymore and am lost why topuria ever even mentioned paddy.

The FULL timeline of Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett’s rivalry

Topuria and Pimblett hate each other, but not many people know the full story.

www.sen.com.au

Legitimate rivalry/bad blood between them going all the way back to 2021. It's also just a huge fight because Paddy is one of the more popular LW contenders on the roster.

 

[AndrewGolota48]

Brian Shaw has over 200lbs of muscle on Dustin Poirier. I'm not even sure if Paddy has more lean body tissue on him than Ilia does.

Ilia isn't as small as people make him out to be. He's a lean 170lbs in the cage and carries it extremely well. He's short, but that's only one dimension of size. No one really thinks that George Roop is bigger than Daniel Cormier, despite him being about 4 inches taller.

Shaw is bigger than Paddy yes but Poirier is also a lot bigger than Ilia.

 

[BjPenn2017]

When you start talking about size and stuff like chin and how well you can take a punch, there’s a good chance you know you’re out of your depth skill for skill.

Paddy vs Topuria would look like the Josh Emmett fight, basically a beating from bell to hell with Topuria whooping him except without much danger of getting KO’d.
Paddy is a decent grappler but I’m not going to pretend his stand up is good because he landed some leg kicks and a knee on 45 year old Chandler who is much more shot than Charles and Paddy’s best win.

 

[cblitz]

Paddy gonna get his poop pushed in.

 

[Skarsgard]

We had Drew Dober at 183 fighting at 155, that's 28 pounds. Fair to say Paddy will be above 180
Ilia will be a bit heavier next time probably, as he just went up. Maybe an average 175

Paddy likes to fight going backwards, while throwing kicks.
His defense was terrible early in his UFC career. It's getting better.
It wasn't good against Green.
But he makes it work against smaller guys, by leaning back.
That's why Chandler landed next to nothing against him.
He's training boxing a lot.


Ilia cuts the cage and distance and then unloads and overloads Pimblett. Paddy has no power to keep him off.

Ilia's own defense is nothing to write home about though. He follows the same patterns and resets. I would favor someone using a kick heavy approach at range against him.

 

[mkess101]

Gotta say he's also ACCURATE.

He finds the chin repeatedly. Volkanovski , Max, Oliveira.

The "problem" with topuria (from his opponents point of view) is that taking him down to the mat probably won't work either as he is very good there too.

So...I just see Topuria reigning for a while.
How topueia vs makhachev would go I really don't know and I don't thinknUFC are on ANY hurry to do that fight as they don't want either guys record to be "damaged".
UFC will keep them separate.

Topuria vs Tsarukyan is the fight at 155lbs I'm very interested in but........Dana for whatever reason holds things against tsarukyan.

Spot on. It's his accuracy WITH power shots that's special. Tons of guys can "aim" jabs and be accurate. Landing clean power shots on moving targets is not easy and he's made a habit of doing it.

 

[The XL]

Shaw is bigger than Paddy yes but Poirier is also a lot bigger than Ilia.

Not to the point where his size would overwhelm Ilia with a deficiency in power, speed, and skill.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Weight bully confirmed.

This is why I can't cheer for this guy.

When I see him in the octagon, he reminds me of Arturo Gati and Joey Ganache.

Or heck, Zahid Valencia vs Kyle Dake

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

when paddy gets Ilia down and gets on top

 

[Söze Aldo]

Brian Shaw has over 200lbs of muscle on Dustin Poirier. I'm not even sure if Paddy has more lean body tissue on him than Ilia does.

Ilia isn't as small as people make him out to be. He's a lean 170lbs in the cage and carries it extremely well. He's short, but that's only one dimension of size. No one really thinks that George Roop is bigger than Daniel Cormier, despite him being about 4 inches taller.

It's also funny how fight fans forget a guy named Mike Tyson was regularly KOing guys 6" taller than him.

Ilia is not 1:1 with Mike but they are both relatively short guys for their weight class who are densely built and have quick hands. Sometimes that works better than being long and lean.

 

[KO Shotz]

That's all Paddy will be taking about now is him fighting Ilia. Any shot of getting Arman or Gaethje in there next with Ilia is out the window. The UFC messed up by getting Paddy in the octagon to confront Ilia.

Paddy needs 1 more fight before a title shot. A win over a washed up & beat up Michael Chandler who is a shell of himself isn't title shot worthy for me.

 

[Kaiokenrye24]

Ilia is going to smash Paddy’s liver, he’s one of the few dudes that consistently mixes in body shots

 

[chinarice]

Shaw is bigger than Paddy yes but Poirier is also a lot bigger than Ilia.

The size difference between any of these LWs and Ilia is nowhere near the size and strength difference of Shaw compared to Paddy or Poirier. Not even close.

 

[VAfan]

especially if he keeps eating like he does.