The rivalry between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett runs deep.
When former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) vacated the 145-pound division earlier this year to pursue gold at lightweight, the prospect of a long-anticipated matchup with old rival Paddy Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) inched closer to reality.
The tension between the two dates back to an altercation ahead of UFC London in 2022. Their feud escalated later that year when they exchanged verbal jabs at the UFC 282 pre-fight press conference—an encounter that Topuria, known as “El Matador,” hasn’t forgotten.
Since then, Topuria has achieved championship glory, defeating Alexander Volkanovski to capture the featherweight title. He followed up by knocking out former champion Max Holloway in his first defense. Now, he’s set to headline UFC 317 later this month, where he’ll face Charles Oliveira for the vacant lightweight belt.
"He's a hypocrite," Topuria said of Pimblett while speaking to ESPN Deportes in Spanish. "I'll tell you, I remember we shared a press conference once, and he said something like, 'I'm fighting in the main card, and you're on the prelims,' some kind of nonsense. And now I'm thinking, I have two belts. Where are you? Who the f*ck is Paddy Pimblett right now and why would he deserve to fight me right now?"
As Topuria closes in on championship status in the same division where Paddy Pimblett has been building his name since joining the UFC in 2021, the Spanish-Georgian star revealed that, if given the choice, Pimblett would be his preferred opponent for a first title defense.
"Honestly, if I could choose a fight, I would fight him because I hate him," Topuria said. "He's a pain in the ass. I'd love to give that fight to the fans, because for a long time, I believe that in the UFC, you haven't seen a real fight. Two people who really want to fight each other, and what better way than to fight in front of everyone and put on a show? I know what's going to happen, and it won't be good for him."
