The altercation seemed bound to happen sooner or later. A year ago April, recent UFC signee Paddy Pimblett made waves with several of his fellow fighters when he decided to chime in on the long-standing conflict between Russia and former the former USSR territory, and now sovereign nation, of Georgia.
“Lad how stupid are these Georgians man…no wonder the Russians terrorize their lives,” Pimblett wrote in a since deleted tweet, alongside a host of laughing emojis.
The comment drew the ire of several fighters in the UFC. And with Georgian featherweight talent Ilia Topuria set to compete on the same card as Pimblett this coming Saturday in London, England, it seems ‘El Matador’ took the opportunity to share his thoughts with the Liverpudlian—in a decidedly fistic manner.
“I warned you! This is what happens when you disrespect me and my country !” Topuria wrote on an Instagram video that shows he and members of his entourage scuffling with Pimblett at the fighter hotel for UFC London. “You saw me and wanted to greet me because you shit your pants… and you should thank my team because if it wasn’t for them separating me, I would have taken your head off. This is not twitter, this is real life!”
Unsurprisingly, Pimblett took to social media himself, shortly after news of the altercation came to light, to give his side of the story.
Imagine trying to jump someone on their own with 5 of your boys & you dont land a single shot & get a bottle of hand sanitizer bounced off your head you little don’t try to act big like you did something when you your pants pretending ur boys was holding u back pussy https://t.co/b5NOEyDu3Y
— Paddy The Baddy (@theufcbaddy) March 15, 2022
6 vs 1 and yous never done nothin gang of bitches @Topuriailia
— Paddy The Baddy (@theufcbaddy) March 15, 2022
That’s a screenshot of me slipping a punch he tried to hit me after gettin something bounced off his head an I slipped it why do u think he’s deleted the insta story already
— Paddy The Baddy (@theufcbaddy) March 15, 2022
Topuria is set to take on former Cage Warriors lightweight champion Jai Herbert in the opening bout of the UFC London main card, this Saturday, March 19th. The bout will be the first at 155 of Topuria’s pro MMA career. Further up toward the top of the card, Pimblett has his own bout in the lightweight division, facing off against Kazula Vargas. If both men win their bouts, it seems like they’ve built the perfect fodder for a grudge match sometime in the not too distant future.
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