Ilia Topuria still hasn’t forgotten his grudge against Paddy Pimblett, but he won’t let it be the reason to give the Briton the opportunity to face him in the cage.
Topuria is now gearing up for the biggest fight in his career. Next weekend, the 27-year-old will be facing Alexander Volkanovski to challenge him for his featherweight belt. Once he secures the title, it is certain that the Spanish fighter will be the target of future callouts from fellow fighters in his division and even from other class weights. “El Matador,” nonetheless, wants to have meaningful bouts in the future, which are not just based on beef. That includes a match against Pimblett.
The animosity between the two started with verbal exchanges at the UFC 282 pre-fight press conference, with Topuria revealing that Pimblett’s offensive comments about his country and roots sparked it. Then, prior to the UFC London event in 2022, the two engaged in a physical altercation.
Needless to say, Topuria still hasn’t let go of the past. Prior to his current position as the title challenger of his division, he expressed his intention to fight Pimblett in the future. That still hasn’t changed, but for Topuria, the only fights he’ll take with Pimblettt are the ones outside the UFC cage.
With his position now and the possibility of being the next featherweight champ, Topuria refuses to give the unranked fighter a rare opportunity to face him professionally. And for him, the fighter doesn’t deserve this after his performance against Tony Ferguson, which was also lambasted by others.
“I take it every fight as a professional, I look at all my opponents as a professional, but with him, it’s personal,” Topuria said on The MMA Hour. “If I see him in the supermarket, I smash him right there.
“He’s not even ranked. Did you watch his last fight? It was embarrassing. His last fight was embarrassing. The level he showed in that fight [against Ferguson], that’s embarrassing, he looked like a beginner.”
