‘The Baddy’ shared a brief encounter with a lightweight rival whilst being on stage at the O2 Arena in London.
Paddy Pimblett’s rivalry with Ilia Topuria dates back several years before both men became two of the biggest stars in the UFC today.
Their paths recently crossed at last weekend’s fight night event where they were were in town to corner their teammates on March 22.
It ended up being an eventful night for Pimblett following the retirement of Molly McCann and Nathan Fletcher suffering a somewhat controversial loss.
Rather than there being a heated exchange between the two men like in the past, their latest interaction in London wasn’t just passive, it was relatively friendly.
Paddy Pimblett explains his first bump with Ilia Topuria despite their rivalry
Paddy Pimblett was on stage at the ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC London and as he started to make his way out behind his teammate, he spotted Ilia Topuria who was standing next to Hunter Campbell.
A first bump and laugh was shared between them despite the fact that they’re now competing in the same weight class with Topuria vacating his featherweight title.
In a recent YouTube video on his channel, Pimblett gave fans a look behind the scenes into his week in the capital as he helped prepare his Next Generation MMA teammates whilst looking ahead to his outing at UFC 314.
‘The Baddy’ explained exactly what had happened in his brief exchange with ‘La Leyenda’ and how regardless of their history, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be civil in this instance.
With Pimblett set to take on Michael Chandler next month and Topuria targeting the very top names at 155-pounds, we could be just one fight away from seeing them meet inside the Octagon.
Their rivalry would look likely return to being heated in that instance but for now, they’re at least on civil terms with one another.
“Quite funny. Ilia walked across here, he looked at me, I was looking at him and he done that and then obviously on stage, as I walked past him we both just laughed and looked at each other. I thought it’d be quite funny to just go (fist bump) and he went like that (open hand) on my hand and high fived it. We might not like each other but had a little laugh then.”
Paddy Pimblett shares emotional backstage footage after Molly McCann’s retirement
Whilst his interaction with Ilia Topuria made headlines, Paddy Pimblett will remember this week in particular for the emotional retirement of his close friend and teammate.
A teary-eyed Pimblett was already shown in the front row following Molly McCann’s retirement but in his latest video, he gave fans some insight into what happened after ‘Meatball’ went backstage.
The bond between them is clear to see as McCann thanked Pimblett and her coaches for everything they’ve done for her in her career.
The 34-year-old remarked that she was particularly upset about not having the chance to fight on the same card as ‘The Baddy’ again which they have done several times throughout their UFC careers.