Paddy Pimblett on Ilia Topuria: “Everyone wants to fight me”
The feud between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett has become a major storyline coming out to UFC London last night.
It all began prior to Saturday night’s fight card when Topuria and “The Baddy” got into an altercation at the UFC fighter hotel on Tuesday. The altercation between the two lightweights sparked rumors as to if they will be booked against one another in their next bouts.
Come fight night, both were able to secure finishes. Topuira scored a brutal knockout over Jai Herbert and Pimblett scored a first-round submission over Rodrigo Vargas.
Watch the finishes below:
ILIA TOPURIA BY KNOCKOUT 🤯
QUEL COMEBACK 🔥🇬🇪 #UFCLondon https://t.co/Dinc7EzmCj
— CULTURE MMA (@CultureMMA_) March 19, 2022
First-round finish for @theufcbaddy at #UFCLondon
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/rMKHbi409N
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) March 19, 2022
At the post-fight press conference, the media asked Pimblett about Topuria.
Pimblett told media members that despite getting rocked with a head kick, Topuria’s knockout was good. Pimblett then noted that if he had hit Topuria with that head kick, “I’d finish him.”
When Pimblett was asked about a potential matchup with Topuria, he stated:
“Everyone wants to fight me. Everyone wants to hang on my coattails.”
He continued, “no one knew who Ilia Topuria was, well no one knew who hand sanitizer boy was until he tried to start an altercation with me. No one knew who he was. I’m the draw, everyone wants to fight me.”
Without a doubt, this is a matchup that the fans would love to see. Whether or not this is the route the UFC decides to take for their next bouts, both are rising stars and are sure to cross paths sometime during the UFC careers.
