Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett on TUF? Dana White responds after UFC 332
The UFC feud between Ilia Topuria and Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett has escalated as of late, with calls to have them star on TUF.
Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett are known to be fierce rivals who've traded several barbs over the years.
Coming to the here and now, UFC CEO and president Dana White has suggested that the UFC would be interested in possibly having Topuria and Pimblett star as rival coaches on a season of the UFC's TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) reality show.
Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett's rivalry transcends sport, featuring a personal element going back a few years
Former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion Ilia Topuria is known to be a notable representative of Georgia and Spain. "El Matador" has consistently expressed his respect for both nations, hailing from a Georgian family who moved to Spain.
On that note, England's Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett made some rather polarizing remarks concerning the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. The Liverpudlian received widespread criticism as he used the war as a jibe at the Georgian-Spaniard Topuria.
Many lambasted him by asserting that a sports rivalry needn't utilize sensitive topics such as wars and miscellaneous geopolitical flashpoints. Topuria posted a screenshot of Pimblett's deleted post on X (then known as Twitter) in 2021, adding that it'll haunt the British fighter forever. Their feud, as such, is believed to have crossed the line of sport and turned into something far more personal and vicious.
UFC 332 -- Dana White hints that Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is an intriguing proposition
Ilia Topuria is coming off his first professional MMA defeat, as he was beaten via TKO by Justin Gaethje and thereby lost his UFC lightweight belt in June. Meanwhile, Paddy Pimblett, who was outpointed by Gaethje in January, bounced back by submitting Benoit Saint Denis in July.
Currently, the consensus is that UFC lightweight champion Gaethje is likely to put his championship at stake against top contender Arman Tsarukyan early next year. Topuria and Pimblett have also expressed interest in ascending to the lightweight throne.
However, certain sections of the MMA community have called for Topuria and Pimblett to first face one another in their long-awaited grudge match. Some have even highlighted that they could be roped in as rival coaches on the TUF reality show's next season.
The latest season was TUF 34, which featured MMA veterans Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping as rival coaches and aired this year. They happen to be retired fighters from different weight classes, who didn't fight against each other at the Season Finale, as opposed to some of the other TUF seasons.
Speaking of which, the belief is that Topuria and Pimblett could coach on the show and clash inside the Octagon in their potential TUF season's Finale.
During the UFC 332 post-event press conference, UFC head honcho Dana White was asked about the possibility of a Topuria-Pimblett TUF casting. He responded by implying that he's open to the idea. White stated:
"I mean, I love the idea of that. But a lot of things determine how things play out. Not just for, like, you know, The Ultimate Fighter, but certain fights, title fights, and all this. I don't know. We'll see how the timing plays out. But that would definitely be a good one."
Watch Dana White discuss the possibility of an Ilia Topuria vs. Paddy Pimblett TUF season below (*comments at the 12:20-minute mark of the video):
