{"id":11368,"date":"2025-07-06T01:05:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T05:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/07\/06\/paddy-pimblett-sparks-major-career-shift-with-ufc-title-victory-over-ilia-topuria\/"},"modified":"2025-07-06T01:05:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T05:05:54","slug":"paddy-pimblett-sparks-major-career-shift-with-ufc-title-victory-over-ilia-topuria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2025\/07\/06\/paddy-pimblett-sparks-major-career-shift-with-ufc-title-victory-over-ilia-topuria\/","title":{"rendered":"Paddy Pimblett Sparks Major Career Shift with UFC Title Victory Over Ilia Topuria"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Paddy Pimblett witnessed Ilia Topuria&#8217;s departure from the lightweight division after he claimed the title. Ranked #10 in the UFC lightweight roster, Pimblett is now closer than ever to a title shot after his bout against the new champion Topuria at UFC 317. The two fighters have a storied rivalry, with Pimblett, a talented grappler, calling himself the &#8220;Kryptonite&#8221; to the undefeated Topuria, confident he can defeat him in the long run.<\/p>\n<p>Both fighters previously competed in Bantamweight and Featherweight before moving up to lightweight. Now, as a two-division champion, Topuria has considered a move to Welterweight, a path Pimblett might also take. With a potential title fight on the horizon, Pimblett hinted at seeking a second championship in a higher weight class once he secures the lightweight belt. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, Pimblett&#8217;s shift in weight class surprised fans. Although he has many fights left at age 30, Pimblett is already planning for life after fighting, expressing a desire to pursue acting upon retirement. This move is reminiscent of other MMA fighters like Gina Carano and Randy Couture who successfully transitioned to acting.<\/p>\n<p>Fan Take: This news signals a compelling rivalry in the UFC\u2019s lightweight division and showcases Pimblett\u2019s ambition to become a multi-division champ, which could elevate the sport&#8217;s excitement and marketability. Fighting fans should watch closely, as Pimblett\u2019s journey might inspire a new wave of fighters aiming for crossover success both inside and outside the octagon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paddy Pimblett witnessed Ilia Topuria&#8217;s departure from the lightweight division after he claimed the title. Ranked #10 in the UFC lightweight roster, Pimblett is now closer than ever to a title shot after his bout against the new champion Topuria at UFC 317. The two fighters have a storied rivalry, with Pimblett, a talented grappler, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2443],"tags":[2444],"class_list":{"0":"post-11368","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fighting","8":"tag-fighting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}