Ilia Topuria comeback date confirmed as two potential opponents revealed

Ilia Topuria wants a rematch with Justin Gaethje or a showdown against long-time rival Paddy Pimblett once he returns to the Octagon.

Topuria suffered a devastating loss to Gaethje via TKO between the fourth and fifth rounds at UFC Freedom 250 in June, marking the first defeat of his MMA career.

The 29-year-old suffered horrific facial injuries, admitting that he even lost sight in his eye during the first round. Topuria is now making a miraculous recovery and is already targeting a return to the Octagon.

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Ilia Topuria could return to the UFC in February 2027

After losing his UFC lightweight championship belt to Gaethje, the Spanish-Georgian is more motivated than ever to come back with a bang.

The most likely avenues are either a rematch against the man he suffered his first loss to, or a potential mouth-watering showdown with Paddy Pimblett.

UFC president Dana White has already fuelled excitement over a fight against either, stating: "Both sound good to me.

“They’re both great — we don’t lose with either one of those fights. They’re both great fights, I don’t know [which sounds better, or is more likely].”

“Obviously, the rematch with Gaethje is incredible, and a Paddy Pimblett fight is amazing, you know? As bad as those two hate each other,” he concluded.

The question on everyone's mind is: when will Topuria actually return to the Octagon? Well, after a raft of speculation, his physical trainer, Jesus Gallo, has confirmed they are targeting February 2027 as his potential return, eight months after being bloodied and bruised by Gaethje.

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Justin Gaethje's stance on Ilia Topuria rematch

Almost immediately after his win over Topuria, Gaethje shut down talks of a rematch with the Spanish-Georgian, stating that he would need to bounce back with a win to earn a title fight.

“He’s such a pretty boy that he was so concerned about the blood so immediately, I hit him with the uppercut, he’s bleeding, and he starts touching it over and over again,” the 37-year-old said during a broadcast after his fight.

“I am such a huge fan of this kid, but where do you go from here? It’s gonna be very tough to climb back from that. I would say definitely not a rematch. I mean, I made him quit on the stool; I was winning three rounds to one. In any election, that’s a domination.

“I don’t wanna say anything bad about this guy; he was a world champion but he is in the hospital right now, and I’m not."

Three months after his dominant victory, the American isn't even sure that he will fight again after providing an update on talk of retirement ahead of UFC 331 this weekend.

"I do know I’ve just performed better than I’ve ever performed and statistically that shouldn’t have happened… I have a family, I’ve always trusted and told my parents, my brothers, my sister, my coaches, that I need them to have a conversation with me whenever the time needs to come," Gaethje said on the MightyCast YouTube channel.

“I really rely on them and lean on them to help me through this choice, I think it’s a big choice. But I do think I’m a business and I need to approach this like a business… I need to have different conversations and see what life looks like. I haven’t made a decision, I don’t know (whether I will return)."

Currently, it seems like a showdown with Paddy 'The Baddy' is the most likely scenario, as Topuria's beef with him is well-documented.

The Scouser famously hit Topuria with a hand sanitiser bottle, describing it as having “bounced” off his head. Pimblett now refers to the Georgian as ‘hand sanitiser boy’ and ‘Mr. Sanitiser'.

In the years since, both fighters have engaged in further verbal and physical confrontations, which has raised the idea of the duo settling their beef in the ring.