Paddy Pimblett Calls Ilia Topuria a Little Helmet, Rips Arman Tsarukyan
Paddy Pimblett has drawn a sharp public line through UFC lightweight after climbing back into the title mix. The No. 5-ranked fighter said he respects Ilia Topuria even while calling him a “little helmet,” and he said he has no respect for Arman Tsarukyan.
The comments came on the Green Light with Chris Long podcast. Pimblett was describing how he would handle Topuria or Tsarukyan if the UFC booked either fight, not confirming a signed matchup.
He is coming off a 52-second submission of Benoit Saint Denis in the UFC 329 co-main event on July 11. That win followed his January loss to Justin Gaethje in a five-round interim title fight at UFC 324.
Pimblett is 24-4 as a professional and 8-1 in the UFC. His next opponent has not been announced.
Topuria is the former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion. He is 17-1 and ranked No. 1 at 155 pounds after losing the title to Gaethje by fourth-round corner stoppage at UFC Freedom 250 in June.
Tsarukyan is ranked No. 2 at 23-3. He meets Mauricio Ruffy in the UFC 331 co-main event on Sept. 19.
Pimblett said he would not talk to every lightweight the same way. He put Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira in a different category.
“If I fight Ilia or Arman, I’m gonna absolutely rinse their lives,” Pimblett said.
He went further in the same appearance. “I’m gonna absolutely terrorize them,” he said.
Then he named the fighters who would not get that treatment. “But if I fight Max Holloway or Charles Oliveira I wouldn’t, because I respect them and I like them.”
Pimblett framed the Topuria issue as real and old. He also refused to say there is no respect attached to it.
“Don’t get me wrong, I respect Ilia, but we’ve had beef for years, I think he’s a little helmet. Arman Tsarukyan I’ve got no respect for at all, he’s just rich kid, who’s daddy’s a millionaire.”
The insult did not close the door on the fight. Pimblett said he wanted it.
“I’d love to fight him and give him sh*t.”
Topuria has not been booked since the Gaethje loss, the first defeat of his career. Gaethje later said Topuria should not get an immediate rematch and argued that his next fight should be Pimblett or someone similar.
That is the champion’s view, not a UFC announcement. It still shows why Pimblett’s name keeps landing next to Topuria’s.
The Tsarukyan comments were colder. Pimblett went after the Armenian’s background rather than calling him a poor fighter.
“Don’t get me wrong, Arman’s a good fighter, to be honest,” Pimblett said. “But I just can’t respect him because he’s living on daddy’s money, and without that, he wouldn’t be where he is.”
He added that Tsarukyan is “sitting there eating $2,000 caviar for breakfast.” Those lines are Pimblett’s opinion, and they match a rich-kid attack he has used on Tsarukyan before.
Tsarukyan has answered money talk in the past. He told Ariel Helwani last year that people were jealous he had money, while adding he could not buy a private jet or a yacht.
The fight record is a different matter. Tsarukyan is 10-2 in the UFC, with a five-fight winning streak and a November 2025 submission of Dan Hooker.
The rankings explain why these names keep crossing. Gaethje holds the title, Topuria is No. 1, Tsarukyan is No. 2, and Pimblett is No. 5.
A fight with Tsarukyan is not the next available date. He is already committed to Ruffy next month, and a win there would keep him closer to Gaethje than to Pimblett.
Topuria is the more open name on the calendar, but he still has to return first. Until the UFC books Pimblett, a fight with Ilia Topuria is the one he has already said he would take without a friendly buildup.