"I hate him" - Paddy Pimblett calls Ilia Topuria fight a ‘no-brainer’ for UFC, compares feud to Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov

Paddy Pimblett has likened his rivalry with Ilia Topuria to Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov's feud, which is counted as one of the most bitter rivalries in UFC history.

This weekend at UFC 317, Pimblett was in attendance when 'El Matador' knocked out Charles Oliveira to capture the vacant UFC lightweight championship. After the fight, 'The Baddy' was called inside the octagon for a brief yet heated faceoff with Topuria, after the Georgian-Spaniard called him out and reignited their feud. The faceoff didn't end well as Topuria shoved Pimblett.

Check out the faceoff below:

Pimblett later appeared on ESPN's post-fight show and talked about the face-off. The Brit also compared his rivalry with Topuria to McGregor's rivalry with Nurmagomedov. He thinks if the UFC makes Topuria vs. Pimblett, the fight would sell on its own:

"We've got history. You don't even need to sell that fight. It sells itself. Two people who genuinely dislike each other. You don't really get that. We haven't seen that since Khabib [Nurmagomedov] and [Conor] McGregor. Two people who actually hate each other. Because I hate him."

The 30-year-old claims that he will disfigure Topuria and will finish him with a minute left in their grudge match. He quipped:

"I wouldn't even want to finish him fast. I'd want to finish him with a minute left in the fight after I've elbowed him 700 times. I want to disfigure him."

Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments below:

---

Paddy Pimblett thinks he can become UFC champion before he expected

Paddy Pimblett is unbeaten in the UFC and has wins over Michael Chandler, Tony Ferguson, and King Green, among others. 'The Baddy' had earlier said that he plans to fight a ranked lightweight next, after which he wants a title shot in 2026.

However, if the promotion books Pimblett as Ilia Topuria's opponent for his first title defense, the former will have a chance to become a UFC champion this year. 'El Matador' also plans on fighting again in 2025. During the same sit-down posted above, 'The Baddy' said:

"Looks like I could end up being the champion before I expected it." [1:20]

He added:

"I'm more motivated when I'm like that, especially the fact that everyone thinks I'll lose. Everyone thinks that I'll lose, nine out of 10 people probably think he'll knock me out. I love proving people wrong. It just gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Just making people eat their own words." [3:34]

Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments below: