We could be months away from seeing Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett settle their differences.
Ilia Topuria made his double-champion pursuit become a reality with a wild knockout in the UFC 317 main event on Saturday in Las Vegas. Just minutes into his bout with Charles Oliveira, Topuria slept Oliveira with a right hand that sent the former titleholder collapsing in the Octagon.
Topuria’s successful lightweight return came after he vacated the UFC featherweight title earlier this year. After defeating Oliveira, Topuria turned his attention towards a potential showdown with longtime adversary Paddy Pimblett in a post-fight faceoff.
Topuria and Pimblett’s bad blood culminated in a heated faceoff and shove just minutes after Topuria’s second UFC title win. Things between Topuria and Pimblett took a hostile turn in 2022 as they shared a card at a UFC Fight Night in London.
Ilia Topuria/Paddy Pimblett feud began with one scathing tweet
The epicenter of Topuria’s hatred for Pimblett stems from the UK star trading barbs with one of the lightweight champ’s fellow Georgian fighters on social media. While Pimblett’s banter was initially innocuous, things took a big turn in a hurry.
In a since-deleted tweet in April 2021, Pimblett got personal with Georgian fighter Guram Kutateladze, sparking his future feud with Topuria.
“Lad how stupid are these Georgians man [LAUGHS],” Pimblett tweeted.
“No wonder the Russians terrorise their lives [LAUGHS].”
Pimblett was refeRring to the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, in which over 200 Georgian civilians lost their lives in the conflict. Topuria knew several people who passed away in the war, fueling the fire behind his hatred of Pimblett.
Less than a year after Pimblett’s social media jab towards Kutateladze, Topuria and Pimblett crossed paths ahead of a March 2022 UFC Fight Night card headlined by Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov. When Topuria confronted Pimblett in the fighter hotel in London, things escalated in a hurry, leading to punches and hand sanitizer bottles being thrown.
Watch the chaos ensue between Topuria and Pimblett below.
Pimblett and Topuria both went on to earn victories on the card, which coincidentally was Topuria’s first lightweight booking before UFC 317. He defeated Jai Herbert with a come-from-behind knockout finish.
Pimblett and Topuria shared a card again at UFC 282, and nearly came to blows at the pre-fight press conference. Since then, the two sides have traded barbs online, despite a rare cordial moment between Topuria and Pimblett at UFC 312 earlier this year.
Three-plus years after their fighter hotel altercation, Topuria and Pimblett are on the verge of clashing inside the Octagon after a historic night at UFC 317.
Ilia Topuria’s first lightweight title defense could come against Paddy Pimblett
After Pimblett and Topuria’s heated faceoff, Pimblett compared their rivalry to the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor feud at UFC 229. Nurmagomedov went on to defeat McGregor by submission, and years after their fight, tensions remain thick between the two UFC legends.
Pimblett rose into the lightweight title picture by finishing Michael Chandler at UFC 314 earlier this year. He remains unbeaten in his UFC tenure with recent wins over Tony Ferguson, Bobby Green, and Jared Gordon.
After their faceoff at UFC 317, Pimblett and Topuria could make one of the UFC’s dream fights come to fruition. Expect a lively buildup leading to their showdown in the Octagon.