Who is Guram Kutateladze and why does he want to fight Paddy Pimblett?

Guram Kutateladze is a Georgian mixed martial artist and UFC lightweight that wants to fight UFC's latest acquisition, Paddy Pimblett. This would add another former champion and a highly touted prospect to his resume.

'The Georgian Viking' called out UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby on Twitter to demand the fight against Paddy Pimblett in June 2021. The tweet came after the UFC announced the addition of former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Paddy Pimblett to its roster on March 29, 2021. Pimblett has competed in the lightweight division since dropping his featherweight title to Nad Narimani in 2017.

@seanshelby please , let me welcome your new superstar @paddythebaddy to the @ufc in June. And see how baddy he is?!' Guram Kutateladze tweeted.

However, Paddy Pimblett dismissed Guram Kutateladze's callout in a reply, and the pair had a heated exchange on Twitter that was also joined by several fighters and Georgian MMA fans.

'Who the fuck is that mushroom,' Paddy Pimblett replied.

Guram Kutateladze (12-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) made his UFC debut against fellow debutant and former KSW two-division champion Mateusz Gamrot on the featured prelim bout of UFC Fight Island 6. The fight was a short-notice booking after Gamrot's original opponent, Mogomed Mustafaev, was forced out of the bout due to undisclosed reasons. Guram Kutateladze handed Mateusz Gamrot his first professional MMA loss and won the fight via a split decision. The Fight of the Night performance extended Kutateladze's winning streak to nine.

The 29-year-old is the latest addition to the list of Georgian fighters signed with the UFC along with Giga Chikadze, Ilia Topuria, and bantamweight standout Merab Dvalishvili. He trains at the All-Stars Training Center in Sweden that has produced fighters like Alexander Gustafsson, Ilir Latifi, and Khamzat Chimaev.

Paddy Pimblett irked Guram Kutateladze and other Georgian nationals with racist tweets

While replying to Georgian MMA journalist Giorgi Kokiashvili during the Twitter back and forth, Paddy Pimblett referred to the Georgian nationals as "fake Russians." The remark was a reference to Georgia's history as a constituent republic of the USSR.

However, the reference did not sit well with the Georgian MMA fans as the armed conflicts between Russia and Georgia have caused heavy casualties.