Featured Image Credit: Happy Punch/X
Topics: Paddy Pimblett, UFC, MMA, Football
Luke Davies
UFC lightweight contender and Liverpool fan Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett fired a dig at his Real Madrid-supporting foe and UFC champion Ilia Topuria after the Reds’ Champions League victory over Los Blancos on Tuesday.
Pimblett and Topuria have been rivals for a long time, with their feud dating back to 2022, when the pair were involved in a physical altercation ahead of UFC London.
The Liverpudlian threw a bottle of hand sanitiser at Topuria in a hotel lobby, having earlier made a disrespectful comment about Georgia, the country of the lightweight champion’s parents’ birth.
Since then, there have been rumours that the duo will fight, with Topuria becoming the lightweight champion - having earlier been the featherweight champion – when he beat Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June of this year.
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Pimblett also secured a knockout victory last time out when he faced Michael Chandler at UFC 314 back in March.
The pair don't currently have a scheduled bout organised, while it has been suggested that Dana White is waiting until the outcome of UFC 322’s main event between Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev before making a decision in relation to Topuria’s next fight.
Another dilemma for the UFC is that Justin Gaethje also feels he should be next in line for a shot at Topuria’s lightweight strap, with his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, claiming ‘The Highlight’ “will retire” if he “gets jumped by Paddy”, during a recent interview with Submission Radio.
Nonetheless, Paddy has made no secret of his desire to fight Topuria, with the 30-year-old promising to “bring him crashing back down to Earth in a big way” when he spoke to SPORF earlier this week.
This comes after the pair squared up in the octagon after Topuria’s win over Oliveira, with the Spaniard warning Pimblett: "Watch what is going to happen with you,” as the duo went back and forth.
And on Tuesday, Pimblett could not resist aiming a further dig at Topuria via Instagram after his beloved Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Real Madrid in the Champions League league phase at Anfield.
Alongside a photograph of himself with Reds legend Steven Gerrard and his dad, Pimblett wrote: “Finally got to meet Mr Liverpool, one of our own and Huyton’s finest @stevengerrard, my absolute childhood hero, proper scouser who gave his all to the club, no-show from @iliatopuria. Where were you tonight? Thought you were a Real Madrid fan? Can’t wait to bully you in the octagon like the Reds just bullied “your team” for 90 minutes.”
Still, the wait for confirmation of the fight goes on.