Paddy Pimblett doesn’t want to fight Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski has no haters. Paddy Pimblett is scheduled to fight Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 on January 24 in Las Vegas. With champion Ilia Topuria currently inactive, Pimblett believes he could eventually be promoted to undisputed champion if he beats Gaethje.

Meanwhile, Volkanovski (27-4) will put his featherweight title on the line in a rematch against Diego Lopes a week later at UFC 325 on Jan. 31 in Sydney, Australia. Pimblett believes he could be on a collision course with Volkanovski if they both win their respective fights. Pimblett speculates that if he becomes the undisputed lightweight champion, Volkanovski might see this as the perfect opportunity to fulfill his dual championship aspirations. But like almost everyone else, “The Baddy” loves Volkanovski and doesn’t want to fight him.

No hostility

“I think if I win and he wins, and I get upgraded to undisputed champion, I wouldn’t be surprised if [Volk] thinks this is the perfect opportunity to win the lightweight title,” Pimblett recently told Tom Aspinall. “I don’t want to fight Volk. I really like Volk.Volkanovski defended the featherweight title four times in his first championship before challenging Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in 2023. ‘The Great’ gave Makhachev one of the toughest tests of his career despite a unanimous decision loss. Volkanovski defended the featherweight title against Yair Rodriguez before making another doubles championship bid against Makhachev. The Australian was sent to the shadows with a head kick from Makhachev in their rematch. Volkanovski also lost his featherweight title via a brutal knockout against Ilia Topuria in his next outing. Volkanovski won the vacant featherweight title against Lopes (27-7) last year after Topuria moved up to lightweight.