Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria are not fans of each other.
Fighting on their second Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) card together this past weekend (Dec. 10, 2022) at UFC 282 in Las Vegas, both Pimblett and Topuria once again pulled out victories. A match up between the two men seems all too logical because of their bad blood despite being in different divisions. For Pimblett, that’s exactly why he feels he’d have the edge if were to happen.
“Did he mention me again?” Pimblett asked UFC on BT Sport of Topuria after UFC 282. “He’s a midget. He’s tiny. Bryce Mitchell rocked him tonight, you know what I mean?
“I’ll be honest, take my hat off to Ilia Topuria,” he continued. “He looked good tonight, but he gassed a bit in that second round. He looked tired and Bryce who’s a grappler rocked him. He wouldn’t be able to deal with my reach. He’s got power in his hands, Topuria he has. Topuria, hats off to ya, ya looked good tonight, ya did, lad. But he’s fighting at Featherweight. He’s ranked in the top 10 of Featherweight. It just shows what star power that I’ve got that he’s talking about me still. He needs my name to stay in the limelight because I am the boy.”
Topuria kicked off the UFC 282 main card with his biggest win yet, dispatching of the No. 9-ranked contender, Mitchell, via second round arm triangle choke submission (watch highlights). The bout was much more one-sided than most anticipated and the same couldn’t be said for Pimblett’s inaugural co-main event appearance a couple of fights later.
Tasked with Jared Gordon, Pimblett squeaked by “Flash” to earn a controversial unanimous decision win, extending his streak to six in a row (four in UFC). Pimblett believes he did some lasting damage to his fingers and foot in the bout, therefore, a small break may be in “The Baddy’s” early 2023 plans.
For complete UFC 282 results and coverage click here.