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Ilia Topuria recently took aim at Paddy Pimblett in response to the latter expressing interest in a lightweight clash now that they are both competing in the same division. Topuria blasted the Liverpool native for his comments and confirmed that they have true animosity with each other.
Topuria and Pimblett have been at odds with each other for quite some time, which was on full display during their exchange at the UFC 282 pre-fight press conference.
After defeating Michael Chandler, 'The Baddy' added more fuel to the fire by posting a photo of himself head-kicking 'Iron', along with a caption mentioning he wanted to do the same to 'El Matador'.
Championship Rounds posted a clip from Topuria's latest conversation with ESPN Deportes, which shows him clapping back with a fiery response to his past comments.
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Topuria mentioned that he has already surpassed him and questioned what Pimblett has done to deserve a fight with him. He said:
"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. And now I'm thinking, I have two belts. Where are you? Who the fu*k is Paddy Pimblett right now? And why would he deserve to fight me right now?" [Translated]
Check out Championship Rounds' post featuring Ilia Topuria's comments below:
Ilia Topuria says he would be interested in fighting Paddy Pimblett due to animosity
Ilia Topuria also expressed his interest in fighting Paddy Pimblett solely due to their hatred towards each other.
In the aforementioned clip, Topuria mentioned that a bout against Pimblett would be great for the fans and remains confident of getting his hand raised. He said:
"If I could choose a fight, I would fight [Pimblett] because I hate him... 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." [Translated]
Check out MMA Fighting's post featuring Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett's exchange during the UFC 282 press conference below:
