Paddy Pimblett still thinks he can beat Ilia Topuria.
Defending his featherweight title for the first time since scoring a second-round knockout against Alexander Volkanovski in February, ‘El Matador’ delivered on his word at UFC 308, becoming the first man to ever KO ex-champion Max Holloway inside the cage.
It was a shocking turn of events and a star-making moment for ‘El Matador,’ but not everyone was impressed.
Reacting to Topuria’s 14th career finish and 16th straight career win, lightweight standout Paddy Pimblett was mostly dismissive of the performance and suggested that if Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t take the title back in 2025, he’ll be willing and waiting.
“Heavy. Hand sanitizer boy with the win,” Pimblett said on his YouTube channel. “Heavy. Well done, Ilia. Give you your due, lad. 16-0. Hand sanitizer boy. Can’t wait for him to come back up to lightweight. Still think I’d beat him. I really do. I still think I’d beat him, lad. Whether he’s just beat Max Holloway or not. I still think I’d beat him lad, by kicking him on the feet or taking him down and submitting him. I genuinely think I’d beat him. But, congrats Ilia Topuria, well done son, congratulations lad…
“Obviously, hand sanitizer knocked Holloway out. Didn’t see that coming, but give him his due, good finish. Max was the better boxer, but Ilia’s the better swinger, isn’t he? He ended up catching him with them big shots on the button, so congrats fella. Can’t wait for Volk to come back and beat you up. If he doesn’t, I’m willing to any time” (h/t Sportskeeda).
Paddy Pimblett and Ilia topuria’s rivalry goes back to 2022
Pimblett and Topuria have had a tense relationship with one another ever since the latter made some disparaging comments about Georgia, Topuria’s home country.
That sparked an altercation between the two at a 2022 event in London that both fighters were competing on. While crossing paths, Pimblett and Topuria needed to be separated by their camps. At one point during the incident, ‘The Baddy’ was spotted launching a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria, hence the nickname “hand sanitizer boy.”
In the time since, Pimblett has barely nudged his way into the lightweight top 15 while Topuria is sitting firmly on the 145-pound throne.
The chances of seeing them scrap anytime soon is pretty unlikely, but as they say in MMA, anything is possible.
