UFC analyst disagrees with Pimblett calling Topuria 'damaged goods'
· Yahoo Sports
Michael Bisping knows what it's like to rebound from an embarrassing loss.
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Many are wondering how former two-division UFC champion Ilia Topuria (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) will respond after his invincible aura was broken in a corner's stoppage loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. Prior to the Gaethje loss, Topuria had knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira.
Topuria's rival Paddy Pimblett (24-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC) thinks he's "damaged goods" as he angles to fight him, but Bisping isn't so sure. If the former UFC middleweight champion was able to bounce back from getting knocked out cold by Dan Henderson at UFC 100, he believes Topuria can do the same.
"Paddy says, 'I'm too big for him, I'm too long for him,' and that probably is true," Bisping said on his YouTube channel. "He is big. Now Ilia Topuria was the two-weight division champion, and he does have a lot of knockouts on his resume, but could he knock out Paddy Pimblett? A man that is absolutely gigantic for the division, a man that went five rounds with Justin Gaethje and gave as good as he got? Maybe on the feet, Paddy isn't quite as slick, but man, he's got the chin, and he's got the toughness, and he will keep on coming.
"Justin Gaethje couldn't put him away over five rounds. So the question is, would Ilia be able to do that? Will Ilia take the fight? Will Ilia be the same? Or as Paddy Pimblett says, is he damaged goods? I don't think he is. I think Paddy's being smart. He's talking a bit of sh*t. He doesn't like the guy, anyway, so it's not like he's going to give him some props and give him credit for nothing. I think the fight needs to happen, though. I think it needs to happen soon, and I think it will happen early next year."
Pimblett went all five rounds with Gaethje in his interim lightweight title loss at UFC 324, where he was dropped twice, but ultimately survived.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC analyst disagrees with Pimblett calling Topuria 'damaged goods'