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During the UFC media day prior to his fight this weekend, Paddy Pimblett opened up on the altercation between him and Ilia Topuria, dismissing the Georgian-born lightweight in the process.
The controversial Briton has been at odds with the 25-year-old for some time and the two recently came to blows when they met backstage at the fighter hotel. In the confrontation, a bottle of hand sanitizer was hurled towards the Georgian, bringing to life a new nickname for the prospect.
During an interview at UFC media day, Paddy Pimblett shared further details on how the events unfolded:
"His name's 'Hand Sanitizer' because it got bounced off his head. But I don't concern myself with none of that. He wanted to come at me and try and act hard and he got put in his place. I was stood there on my own and there was about six of them, and he done nothing."
The Liverpool native continued with his assessment of the encounter, claiming if Topuria really wanted to fight, he could have done so easily:
"If he wanted to do something, he would have come around the table and tried to have a fight with me, but he didn't... If you raise your hand to me, I'm going to do something. I wasn't punching him because I wasn't breaking my hand and not being able to fight and earn my money on the weekend. So, I stepped back and picked a hand sanitizer up and bounced it off his head... Who even is he seriously? Who is Mr. Hand Sanitizer?"
Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria are both competing in the lightweight division at UFC London this weekend and are seemingly on a collision course to fight one another.
Check out Pimblett's views on the scuffle and more below:
What caused the Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria dispute?
The events that caused the backstage incident involving Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria stemmed from an online exchange last year.
Some inappropriate words were directed towards the Georgian's home country, which triggered frustration for a number of UFC fighters. The tweet has since been deleted and the Englishman eventually apologized for his comments. However, a grudge has been held by the undefeated Topuria ever since.
Ilia Topuria is desperate to get his hands on Pimblett, and a win in spectacular fashion against another Englishman, Jai Herbert, on March 19 could earn him the fight he wants.
