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The animosity between Guram Kutateladze and Paddy Pimblett is palpable. Both are hostile towards each other, and neither of them would mind settling their dispute inside the cage at some point.
Their bitterness stemmed from a heated exchange on Twitter, where Pimblett allegedly made some xenophobic comments, which were unintentional, according to the newest UFC recruit.
Kutateladze, a Georgian MMA fighter, called for the UFC to let him "welcome" Pimblett into the organization. Kutateladze claimed his callout was respectful.
However, the Liverpool-based fighter fended off the challenge and referred to him as 'mushroom'. He further addressed Georgians as 'fake Russians', which infuriated Kutateladze and other UFC stars from Georgia. In a now-deleted tweet, Pimblett wrote:
"Lad, how stupid are these Georgians, man. No wonder the Russians terrorize their lives."
In his recent interaction with RT Sport MMA, Kutateladze said Paddy Pimblett's behavior reflected his lack of intelligence:
"You don't have to mix up the religion, family, country, war, politics. It's absolutely unnecessary. But I repeat this again, and it's not the first time I'm repeating it; uneducated, disrespectful, childish kid, as I said it before."
After facing severe backlash for his comments, Paddy Pimblett deleted some of his tweets, and argued there was no malice behind his words.
"I would like the Georgian people to understand that I had no idea about the history between Georgia and Russia. I'm a fighter, not a historian or politician. I didn't know what had gone. The people seem to think I said it with malice when I had no idea of the past," Pimblett wrote.
Russia and Georgia were both constituent republics of the Soviet Union. Tensions between the two countries have been escalating more than ever since the Russo-Georgian war broke out in 2008.
Guram Kutateladze wants to slap Paddy Pimblett, but wouldn't do it out of respect for the UFC
In the same interview with RT Sport MMA, Guram Kutateladze suggested his first personal interaction with Paddy Pimblett may get physical. The 29-year-old said he wouldn't mind slapping the Scouser if he sees him in-person.
'Georgian Viking' then added he would rather refrain himself from engaging in a physical altercation with Paddy Pimblett outside of the cage because he doesn't want to disrespect the UFC.
Kutateladze's current professional MMA fight record stands at 12-2. He is on a nine-fight win streak, and had fought undefeated prospect Mateusz Gamrot in October last year. Kutateladze became the first fighter to hand Gamrot a loss as he eked out a close split decision win over his Polish opponent.
