Ilia Topuria addresses ongoing feud with outspoken scouser Paddy Pimblett: ‘I want to slap his face’
Ilia Topuria still can’t stand the sight of fast-rising lightweight prospect Paddy Pimblett.
Topuria, who currently sits in the No. 9 spot of the UFC’s featherweight rankings, will look to jump into the top five this weekend as he is set to square off with one-time interim title challenger Josh Emmett in a high-stakes main event clash. Ahead of his return to the Octagon, the undefeated Georgian spoke with members of the media and was unsurprisingly asked about his ongoing rivalry with outspoken scouser Paddy Pimblett.
The two men have had an ongoing feud with one another, all stemming from a disparaging comment the Liverpudlian made about Georgians while referencing the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia. Since then, the fighters have been booked on two cards together, and Ilia Topuria took advantage of the opportunity to display his dislike for ‘The Baddy’ on both occasions. The first being in London, where Topuria was spotted lunging at Pimblett in a cafeteria. The second occurred during a UFC 282 press conference in December when Topuria once again lunged at Pimblett following a heated verbal exchange.
With the two fighters at one another’s throats every time they happen to be in the same building, fans automatically assumed that the UFC would capitalize on the free publicity and book the two rising stars for an easy-to-sell scrap. However, with Ilia Topuria quickly rising up the featherweight ranks and Pimblett still working to obtain a number by his name at lightweight, it now appears that ‘El Matador’ has seemingly moved on. For now, that is.
“Paddy, you know what happens with Paddy?” Topuria said at a press event last Saturday. “He’s a person that, media attention-wise, he’s big. But as a fighter, we all know he’s not worth anything. He’s not even ranked. He hasn’t done anything.
“So giving merit to a person that’s only where he is because he knows how to sell himself well, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. We’re athletes. In the UFC, the difference between them and other organizations is that here what’s valued is the sport, and Paddy, sporting-wise, hasn’t achieved anything. That’s why he doesn’t interest me at all.”
Ilia Topuria is Open to a Future Fight with Paddy Pimblett
Ilia Topuria provided a little more insight during a separate UFC media event this week, leaving the door cracked open for a potential showdown between himself and Pimblett once ‘The Baddy’ establishes himself as more than a mouthpiece.
“Right now, I have a goal which is to become the featherweight world champion. He’s a lightweight. He’s not even ranked, so why do I have to fight him? I didn’t have any interest in fighting him,” Topuria revealed during his pre-fight press conference appearance. “If one day he puts himself into the rankings and he becomes a little bit bigger in the company, not just for talking and being a showman. As a professional, why not? We can do it at 155, 170. I don’t care. He can come and make the weight.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean Ilia Topuria won’t take the opportunity to slap the taste out of Paddy Pimblett’s mouth should the two find themselves in the same room once again.
“I always see him coming [and] it’s like I want to slap his face. So, yeah. I don’t know,” Topuria responded when asked if fans can expect any more scuffles between the two.
