"Fat featherweight" - Paddy Pimblett lambasts Ilia Topuria before Benoit Saint Denis fight at UFC 329

The Paddy Pimblett vs. Ilia Topuria feud appears to be as intense as ever. Pimblett, who's relentlessly targeted Topuria since the latter suffered his first MMA defeat last month, has now launched another verbal attack against him. 

"The Baddy" has asserted that Topuria, who previously reigned as a champion at featherweight and later at lightweight, isn't big enough to compete in the lightweight division. 

Paddy Pimblett takes aim at Ilia Topuria, claims "El Matador" isn't a true lightweight

During a recent conversation with the Spinnin Backfist MMA Show, one-time interim UFC lightweight title challenger Paddy Pimblett addressed his upcoming fight, a lightweight matchup against France's Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329 on July 11. 

On one hand, Pimblett is coming off a unanimous decision defeat against Justin Gaethje in their interim UFC lightweight title showdown in January. On the other hand, Gaethje faced Ilia Topuria next, defeating Topuria via fourth-round TKO and winning the UFC lightweight championship at UFC Freedom 250 on June 14. 

Despite his long-running rivalry against Topuria, Pimblett has now affirmed that the gruesome facial damage he suffered against Gaethje last month makes their grudge match unlikely to materialize anytime soon. 

Pimblett said, "You know, everyone keeps saying fight Ilia next. But that man's face is mashed up, lad. He's not coming back before the end of the year, and I'd like to fight again before the end of the year. So, we're just gonna have to see what happens." 

When asked about what he saw in Gaethje that encouraged him to predict the American would beat Topuria, Pimblett explained that fighting him helped him understand how "weird" and effective his combat style is. 

Pimblett went on to lambast Topuria, warning that he'd send "El Matador" back to the featherweight division. The Liverpudlian stated: 

"But I always say it. We have weight classes for a reason. Ilia Topuria is a fat featherweight. You know what I mean? He's not a lightweight, lad. And if I ever fight him, people will realize that." 

The British fighter continued, "If he fights me, he will move back down to '45 because he will realize how small he is for the weight." 

 

Watch Paddy Pimblett sound off on Ilia Topuria below (*comments at the 4:30-minute mark of the video): 

Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria -- UFC stars with a fiery rivalry

A notable point Paddy Pimblett underlined is that he believes he'd have to beat Benoit Saint Denis and then another top contender before getting a UFC lightweight title shot against Justin Gaethje.

Meanwhile, it's noteworthy that lightweight elites such as Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira are in pursuit of a title matchup against Gaethje.

The consensus is that although Ilia Topuria has called for an immediate title rematch against Gaethje, it's believed that his recovery from the reported damage he suffered at UFC Freedom 250 could keep him on the sidelines for a while. 

Speaking of which, a potential grudge match between Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria seems to be quite far at this point in time.

Their heated rivalry can be traced to a few years ago, back when Pimblett made some rather controversial remarks regarding the Russo-Georgian war. The Georgian-Spaniard Topuria criticized him for the same. 

Their feud reached a notable crescendo when Pimblett and Topuria came to blows at a UFC fighter hotel before the UFC London card that transpired in March 2022. Pimblett threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Topuria while they were being separated by security. 

Furthermore, Pimblett and Topuria almost got into a physical altercation again at the UFC 282 press conference later in 2022. They've also traded barbs in the ensuing years. As such, many foresee a fight between "The Baddy" and "El Matador" likely coming to fruition someday. 

Intriguingly, a screenshot of Pimblett's controversial tweet about the Russia-Georgia conflict's history -- which elicited condemnation from many Georgians and other netizens -- is still available on Topuria's X handle. The Georgian-Spaniard combatant put forth the screenshot of the Englishman's X post (then known as tweet) in a post back in 2021. 

Check out Topuria's post featuring a screengrab of Pimblett's polarizing comments below: 

You think that’s funny?! In that attack by Russia against us, many innocent people lost their lives, including children! The one who supports terrorism and racism is one of them! This tweet will haunt you for life!@PaddyTheBaddy pic.twitter.com/IxRvn6FkXK

— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) April 1, 2021