Ilia Topuria criticizes Paddy Pimblett performance, discusses Islam fight plans

Featherweight champion Ilia Topuria expressed disappointment with Paddy Pimblett's performance against Renato Moicano, stating he knew Pimblett was a poor fighter but didn't realize the extent. Topuria also revealed important news about his potential move to welterweight to face Islam Makhachev, confirming he would not be stripped of his featherweight title as he plans to continue defending that belt. Light heavyweight contender Magomed Ankalaev, through his manager Abdelaziz, issued a challenge to Khalil Rountree, offering him a 25-minute striking masterclass. Former champion Jiri Prochazka revealed he cannot move past his title loss, admitting he was only at 40-50% capacity due to injury and was fighting in sparring mode while waiting for the referee to stop the bout. The UFC announced several matchups appealing to hardcore fans, including a difficult assignment for Cory Sandhagen against Merab Dvalishvili instead of Sean O'Malley.