UFC featherweight contender Ilia Topuria isn’t interested in facing Paddy Pimblett in a cage.
‘El Matador’ is currently slated for the biggest fight of his life later this month at UFC 298. Fresh off a dominant win over Josh Emmett last summer, Ilia Topuria will attempt to win featherweight gold. On pay-per-view, he will face the dominant Alexander Volkanovski, back for the first time since a knockout loss to Islam Makhachev last October.
For Ilia Topuria, the fight offers a lot more than just a crack at gold. For a while now, the featherweight contender has felt strongly that he can be a massive star. In recent weeks, Topuria has discussed bouts with the likes of Conor McGregor, Sean O’Malley, and more. One name that he won’t be facing, however, is Paddy Pimblett.
‘The Baddy’ has famously feuded with Ilia Topuria for quite a while now. The two nearly got into a fight during UFC London fight week, almost two years ago at this point. While Topuria called for the bout immediately afterward, Paddy Pimblett repeatedly shut him down.
With that in mind, Ilia Topuria doesn’t want to face Paddy Pimblett in the cage anymore. Speaking on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani earlier this week, the Spanish fighter was asked about his longtime rival. There, he stated that he would fight him in the supermarket, due to the personal nature of their feud. However, as far as a cage fight is concerned, he’s good, Pimblett missed that opportunity.
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Image via @iliatopuria on Instagram
Ilia Topuria shoots down future UFC fight with ‘beginner’ Paddy Pimblett
“I take every fight as a professional, I look to all my opponents as a professional. But with him? It’s personal.” Ilia Topuria stated early today on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, when asked about fighting UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett. “If I see him in the supermarket, I’ll smash him right there. Professional fight? He’s not even ranked!”
He continued, “Did you even watch his last fight? It was embarrassing. His last fight was embarrassing. Yeah, [the Tony Ferguson] fight. The level he showed in that fight, it was embarrassing. He looked like a beginner.”
While Ilia Topuria wasn’t impressed with Paddy Pimblett’s latest win, it was the biggest of his career thus far. In December at UFC 296, ‘The Baddy’ dominated former interim lightweight champion, Tony Ferguson, en route to a unanimous decision victory. The win was his fifth in a row in the octagon but clearly didn’t impress everyone, based on Topuria’s comments earlier today.
While ‘El Matador’ is set to face Alexander Volkanovski later this month, Paddy Pimblett remains unbooked as of now. The British fighter showed interest in a return at UFC 300 in April, but the impending birth of his twins disrupted those plans.
What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see a fight between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett in the future?
