Paddy Pimblett has delivered a scathing rant at Ilia Topuria amid rumours that the pair could clash over the UFC lightweight title, making fresh comments about the champion’s heritage.
Pimblett and Topuria’s feud began in 2022, when the latter took issue with tweets that “Paddy The Baddy” had posted about the nation of Georgia. Topuria, 28, was born in Germany to Georgian parents, and he has resided in Spain since he was 15.
Topuria and his team confronted Pimblett, now 30, at the fighter hotel ahead of UFC London in March 2022, leading the Liverpudlian to throw a bottle of hand sanitiser at “El Matador”.
Now, Pimblett has again discussed Topuria’s background, as fans await news of the latter’s first challenger as lightweight champion. Pimblett or Justin Gaethje is expected to be announced as Topuria’s next opponent.
“No one would know who Ilia Topuria was if it wasn’t for me,” Pimblett told Marca. “He made himself famous off the back of my name. He wouldn’t even be a champ now if it weren’t for him jumping on my coattails, and now he thinks he’s too good to fight me. You wouldn’t be where you were without me.
“He’s fake, he’s so fake like half of his followers on Instagram. He’s the fakest person ever, he’s just a [Conor] McGregor copycat, and I’m getting sick of him.
“He’s a German, he’s not even Spanish, he’s not even Georgian. He was born in Germany, he’s German.”
Pimblett was also asked about his recent jibe that the Bernabeu is a “s***hole”. The stadium is home to Real Madrid, the football team that Topuria supports.
“It’s funny that everyone took it literally […] the Bernabeu’s a nice stadium,” Pimblett clarified. “But to me, because it’s his backyard, it’s a s***hole. That’s like a metaphor, that’s what we say. I will go to the Bernabeu and punch his face in on the pitch, and then I’ll batter half the team if I need to – but I’m taking the belt home.
“He’s not a Madrid fan, he’s not even from Madrid, he’s not even from Spain. He just jumped on their coattails to get more fans and followers.
“I will inflict pain on his life, he wouldn’t come out of that fight looking the same – I’d hit him with that many elbows. Step up, Ilia. Stop being a chorizo, be a man.”
Pimblett last fought in April, stopping former Bellator champion Michael Chandler, while Topuria most recently competed in June, knocking out former UFC champion Charles Oliveira.
With that first-round win, the unbeaten Topuria became a two-weight champion, having relinquished the UFC featherweight belt earlier this year. After stopping Oliveira, Topuria faced off with Pimblett in the cage.
