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Topuria claims UFC are protecting Pimblett

Ilia Topuria at the UFC 282 press conference. | Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

Topuria made a big statement at UFC 282. The feud between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett doesn’t feel like it will die down anytime soon. T…


Ilia Topuria at the UFC 282 press conference.
Ilia Topuria at the UFC 282 press conference. | Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC

Topuria made a big statement at UFC 282.

The feud between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett doesn’t feel like it will die down anytime soon. The whole thing kicked off when Pimblett made a disparaging remark about Georgians, referencing the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia.

Since then Topuria and Pimblett have been booked on two UFC cards together (what a coincidence!). And both times Topuria has tried to get a piece of ‘The Baddy’. The first time, at UFC London in March, Topuria flew at Pimblett in a cafeteria. Most recently, at this past weekend’s UFC 282, Topuria lunged at Pimblett during the pre-fight press conference.

At UFC 282 Topuria impressively dispatched of his opponent—the previously undefeated Bryce Mitchell—and moved his pro record to a sterling 13-0.

Pimblett also got a win at UFC 282. However, his was a unanimous decision victory of Jared Gordon. Most onlookers believe that decision to be one of the worst judging decisions of the year.

This week Topuria appeared on The MMA Hour, where he made it clear that he thought Pimblett was the beneficiary of special treatment from the UFC.

Ilia Topuria: UFC Is Protecting Paddy Pimblett From Me – MMA Fighting

“I feel like the UFC’s protecting him me,” claimed Topuria. “I don’t know why. In reality, that’s the fight to make right now, because it’s one of the biggest fights in the UFC. We can perfectly sell a pay-per-view. That fight makes more excitement for people than [many] championship fights.”

Topuria then said that he thought the decision win for Pimblett was a “Christmas gift” from the UFC and suggested that the promotion wants Pimblett to win so they can keep promoting him as a top talent.

When asked flat out if he thinks the UFC influenced the judges’ decision, Topuria declined to outright accuse his bosses of malfeasance.

“Maybe yes, maybe not,” he responded. “But look, I want to be honest. The guy is good at promoting himself. As a fighter, he sucks. He doesn’t have any skills. He’s so boring to watch. But promoting himself, he’s good, so the UFC’s supporting him, of course.”

Topuria and Pimblett currently fight in separate weight-classes (featherweight and lightweight). Topuria said he was eager to fight Pimblett, but was also excited to focus on the featherweight division and called out former title challenger Brian Ortega.

Topuria also said he thinks it’s very unlikely that the UFC sanctions a fight between he and Pimblett at this early stage of their UFC careers.

“In reality, [the UFC] never made an official offer to Paddy to fight against me. I don’t think he’s going to turn down the fight. Maybe yes, I don’t know, but the UFC didn’t want the fight, yet. I know that one day it’s going to happen.”

Former MMA Fighter Details Recovery From Drug Addiction

A former MMA fighter has opened up about his road to recovery after becoming addicted to drugs during his fighting career. Cincinnati’s Daniel Ritchie has been clean for several years at this point, but the 41-year-old recently detailed the years he sp…

A former MMA fighter has opened up about his road to recovery after becoming addicted to drugs during his fighting career. Cincinnati’s Daniel Ritchie has been clean for several years at this point, but the 41-year-old recently detailed the years he spent battling addiction after he was first prescribed painkillers at age 25 to treat…

Continue Reading Former MMA Fighter Details Recovery From Drug Addiction at MMA News.

Paulo Costa denies signing bout agreement to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 284: ‘That’s fake news’

Paulo CostaOne-time UFC middleweight title challenger, Paulo Costa has claimed he has yet to put pen to paper on a deal to fight former undisputed division champion, Robert Whittaker at UFC 284 on February 11. next in Perth, Australia – calling the promotion’s promotion of the bout as “fake news”. Costa, the current #6 ranked middleweight […]

Paulo Costa

One-time UFC middleweight title challenger, Paulo Costa has claimed he has yet to put pen to paper on a deal to fight former undisputed division champion, Robert Whittaker at UFC 284 on February 11. next in Perth, Australia – calling the promotion’s promotion of the bout as “fake news”.

Costa, the current #6 ranked middleweight contender, most recently featured on the main card of UFC 278 back in August of this year against former undisputed champion, Luke Rockhold – snapping a two-fight losing skid with a unanimous decision victory.

As for former champion, Whittaker, the #2 ranked contender managed to secure a unanimous decision win over common-foe, Marvin Vettori in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night Paris back in July of this year.

In the time since his unanimous judging win over Rockhold earlier this summer, reports suggested Paulo Costa was booked to fight against Robert Whittaker in February of next year on the main card of UFC 284.

However, Costa, who retains just a single fight on his current contract with the organization, insists he has not signed to fight the Australian next year – as he attempts to secure his final contracted fight and then depart the organization.

Paulo Costa insists he has not signed to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 284

This Tuesday evening, however, Costa has labelled reports of a fight with Whittaker as “fake news”, blasting the UFC for promoting the bout as if both sides had officially agreed to fight on February 11.

“I’m asking UFC to show my signs (sic) (signature) in this non-existent contract lol,” Paulo Costa tweeted in response to a Twitter user who questioned who would win between the two at UFC 284. “That’s pure fake news.” 

Challenging former champion, Israel Adesanya for undisputed gold at UFC 253 back in 2020, Costa dropped his first professional loss in the form of a second round knockout loss in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

In August of the following year, the Belo Horizonte native forced an impromptu light heavyweight headliner with the aforenoted, Vettori, where he ultimately suffered a unanimous decision defeat.

Henry Cejudo on Paddy Pimblett’s controversial UFC 282 win: “Talk about complete robbery.”

Henry Cejudo, Paddy Pimblett, UFC 282Henry Cejudo disagrees with the judging behind Paddy Pimblett’s UFC 282 win.  Pimblett defeated Jared Gordon by unanimous decision in controversial fashion this past Saturday. Many spectators believed Gordon did enough on the scorecards to earn a win. Instead, the three judges awarded the fight to Pimblett who earned his sixth straight win overall and […]

Henry Cejudo, Paddy Pimblett, UFC 282

Henry Cejudo disagrees with the judging behind Paddy Pimblett’s UFC 282 win. 

Pimblett defeated Jared Gordon by unanimous decision in controversial fashion this past Saturday. Many spectators believed Gordon did enough on the scorecards to earn a win. Instead, the three judges awarded the fight to Pimblett who earned his sixth straight win overall and fourth in the UFC. 

Cejudo addressed the controversial decision on his YouTube channel. He believes the judges based their decision on Pimblett’s popularity in the UFC. The Olympic gold medalist also cited Sean O’Malley’s UFC 280 win over Petr Yan as another questionable decision. 

“‘Paddy the Fatty’ – I just don’t know what to say,” Cejudo said. “A lot of these guys are just delusional thinking they’re better than what they really are. He lost that fight. I think he needs to rewatch it, or maybe I need to rewatch it, but I think the whole world saw that that’s one of the worst decisions ever.

“Talk about complete robbery. It has nothing to do really with Paddy. It has to do with the judges. … This isn’t a popularity contest. First they did it with Sean O’Malley against Petr Yan.” (h/t MMAJunkie)

Judging has been a topic of discussion for years. Some people have argued that open scoring can help reduce the number of controversial decisions in mixed martial arts. The scoring system would give fighters real-time information during fights. Open scoring continues to be a huge debate in the MMA world. 

With his win this past Saturday, Pimblett is still undefeated in the UFC. The 27-year-old was unfazed with the “robbery” backlash. He was confident that he did enough to beat Gordon. 

Henry Cejudo Isn’t Sold on Paddy Pimblett’s Fighting Abilities. 

The former double UFC champion believes a fight against undefeated Ilia Topuria would not go well for Pimblett. Topuria and Pimblett have a bitter rivalry. They’ve been involved in heated exchanges and almost came to blows at the UFC 282 press conference. Topuria (13-0) believes a bout with Pimblett is the right fight to make but is convinced that the UFC is protective of the young star. 

“Ilia Topuria would absolutely hurt him,” Cejudo said. “He’d be in big, big trouble. But I don’t think Paddy wants that, and I don’t think the UFC wants to do that. Or they may want to do that after they saw that damn performance. They may just say, ‘Hey, you know what? We might just take our money and invest it with Ilia Topuria.’“It’s just a bummer that the sport has to deal with a guy – he’s not even a high-level fighter and he gets a co-main event. It’s like they’re really trying to push somebody too, too premature or (who) doesn’t have the full capability, the full talent.” (h/t MMAJunkie)

Dan Hardy Names Opponent That ‘Makes The Most Sense’ For Jake Paul In MMA After Nate Diaz’s Rejections

With a rematch of their boxing showdown in the steel surroundings of a cage looking unlikely, Jake Paul has been pitched an opponent other than Nate Diaz for his potential mixed martial arts venture. While building his record in the sport of professional boxing, Paul has long outlined his intention to also make a splash […]

Continue Reading Dan Hardy Names Opponent That ‘Makes The Most Sense’ For Jake Paul In MMA After Nate Diaz’s Rejections at MMA News.

With a rematch of their boxing showdown in the steel surroundings of a cage looking unlikely, Jake Paul has been pitched an opponent other than Nate Diaz for his potential mixed martial arts venture.

While building his record in the sport of professional boxing, Paul has long outlined his intention to also make a splash in the MMA world too. That appeared to take a step closer to coming to fruition in early 2023 when he put pen to paper on an MMA-exclusive deal with the Professional Fighters League (PFL).

At the time, the promotion noted that “The Problem Child” would spearhead its new PPV Super Fight division and make his debut in the SmartCage that same year. But in addition to 2023 completing without the ex-Disney star putting his MMA ambitions into motion, another calendar year is on its way to passing by.

After defeating former UFC star Nate Diaz in the ring last August, both Paul and the PFL higher-ups made public pleas for the Stockton native to meet the longtime online personality in the cage.

Since Diaz firmly dismissed that as a possibility, Paul’s focus has remained on boxing, where he’s set to face BKFC star Mike Perry later this month and heavyweight legend Mike Tyson toward the back end of 2024.

With that, the chances of Paul crossing over to the cage are looking increasingly more unlikely. One ex-fighter and key figure in the PFL’s expansion, however, still sees an opponent who could convince the Cleveland native to lace the 4oz gloves…

Hardy: Paul Could Be ‘Enticed’ To MMA For Woodley Fight

During an interview with MMA Fighting, Dan Hardy — a former UFC title challenger and the current director of fighter operations for PFL Europe — was asked about the current state of Paul’s plans in MMA.

After noting that a bout with Diaz appeared to take up all of Paul’s mixed martial arts interest, “The Outlaw” suggested that Diaz’s rejection stems from his fear of a stock-damaging defeat to “The Problem Child” in his realm of the fight game.

With that ship seemingly sailing, Hardy does have another name in mind that could reignite Paul’s interest in MMA.

“I think the idea ultimately was for Jake Paul to be able to get Nate Diaz in a cage and fight him in mixed martial arts,” Hardy said. “I think he had his heart set on Nate Diaz and I don’t think Nate Diaz wants to take the risk of sullying his name and his brand by losing to Jake in an MMA fight. I hate to say it but after watching the boxing match, I think Jake could potentially be a problem for Nate in MMA.

“If we’re doing it, the one that makes the most sense is Tyron Woodley. He’s been commentating with the PFL, he does a great job with that. Every time I see him, we have a very frosty handshake. I feel like he still wants to punch me in the face,” Hardy continued. “Of course, he’s got that knockout loss to Jake Paul. If I’m Tyron Woodley, I’m putting myself at the front of the line to welcome Jake Paul into MMA. I think that’s the kind of opponent Jake Paul could be enticed by.”

Paul and Woodley certainly have a history, having faced each other twice inside the squared circle. While their first contest in August 2021 was a close and competitive affair, the short-notice rematch four months later concluded with the former UFC champion face down on the canvas.

Having continued to express his plans to revisit MMA three years on from his UFC exit, perhaps “The Chosen One” will raise his hand for the task of welcoming Paul to the SmartCage.

For now, though, the polarizing YouTuber-turned-boxer will have his sights on a different ex-UFC athlete in Perry, who has emerged as a leading figure in bare-knuckle boxing owing to victories over Michael “Venom” Page, Luke Rockhold, Eddie Alvarez, and Thiago Alves.

Continue Reading Dan Hardy Names Opponent That ‘Makes The Most Sense’ For Jake Paul In MMA After Nate Diaz’s Rejections at MMA News.