ILIA TOPURIA has seemingly performed yet another U-turn on Paddy Pimblett.
The pair almost came to blows at the UFC London fighter hotel in March 2022 after Topuria confronted the submission specialist over comments he made about his fellow Georgians.
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A public war of words has played out over the last three years, although the duo seemingly put their differences aside with a brief embrace at the most recent UFC London weigh-ins.
But Topuria, who fights for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 317 next weekend, insists he still has immense disdain for ‘The Baddy’.
The 28-year-old said of Pimblett in an interview with ESPN Deportes: “He’s a hypocrite.
“I’ll tell you, I remember we shared a press conference once, and he said something like, ‘I’m fighting in the main card, and you’re on the prelims,’ some kind of nonsense.
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“And now I’m thinking, I have two belts. Where are you?
“Who the f**k is Paddy Pimblett right now and why would he deserve to fight me right now?”
Former featherweight king Topuria has already earmarked Pimblett, who picked up the biggest win of his career against Michael Chandler in April, as his next opponent.
He said: “Honestly, if I could choose a fight, I would fight him because I hate him. He’s a pain in the ass.
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“I’d love to give that fight to the fans, because for a long time, I believe that in the UFC, you haven’t seen a real fight.
“Two people who really want to fight each other, and what better way than to fight in front of everyone and put on a show?
“I know what’s going to happen, and it won’t be good for him.”
Topuria has the small matter of beating former 155lbs titleholder and fan favourite Charles Oliveira before he can think about settling the score with Pimblett.
But ‘El Matador’ believes he’ll make light work of the Brazilian, saying: “Charles is a great fighter.
“I’d say he’s a legendary fighter, one of the few still active in the UFC.
“But the truth is that his style fits perfectly with mine to put him to sleep in the first round.
“Because he has no mobility, he doesn’t move.”
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