We can be months of seeing Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett their differences.
Ilia Topuria made his double champion chase a reality with a wild knockout at the UFC 317 Main Event on Saturday in Las Vegas. Just a few minutes in his fight with Charles Oliveira, Topuria Oliveira slept with a right hand who caught up with the former title holder in the Octagon.
The successful lightweight return of Topuria came after he had left the UFC -Featherweight title earlier this year. After beating Oliveira, Topuria focused his attention on a potential confrontation with old opponent Paddy Pimblett in a faceoff after the fight.
Topuria and Pimblett's bad blood culminated in a heated faceoff and pushed only a few minutes after the second UFC title of Topuria. Things between Topuria and Pimblett took a hostile turn in 2022 when they shared a map on a UFC fighting evening in London.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Ilia Topuria/Paddy Pimblett Feud started with one destructive tweet
The epicenter of Topuria's hatred for Pimblett stems from the British starhandel barbs with one of the colleague georgic fighters of the lightweight champion on social media. While Pimblett's chatter was initially harmless, things took a big turn.
In a tweet removed since then in April 2021, Pimblett personally became with the Georgian hunter Guram Kutateladze, who caused his future feud with Topuria.
If these guys think that this is somehow funny or one
Ppropriate then I don't know what to say. My grandparents, like many other innocent people, were killed during the war. I am ashamed that these kinds of people represent our sport. @Ufc pic.twitter.com/A2GCGCXD77
– Liana Jojua (@lianajojua) 2 April 2021
'Jad, how stupid are these Georgians' man [LAUGHS]”Tweet Pimblett.
'No wonder the Russians terrorize their lives [LAUGHS]. “
Pimblett referred to the Russian invasion of Georgia of 2008, in which more than 200 Georgian citizens lost their lives in the conflict. Topuria knew several people who died in the war and fed the fire behind his hate of Pimblett.
Less than a year after Pimblett's social media Jab Jab towards Kutateladze, Topuria and Pimblett paths crossed before a UFC Fight Night Card in March 2022, led by Tom Aspinall and Alexander Volkov. When Topuria Pimblett confronted in the Fighter Hotel in London, things escalated in a hurry, which led to bumps and hand desin bottles that were thrown.
See below that the chaos between Topuria and Pimblett follows.
Pimblett and Topuria both won the map, which happened to be the first lightweight booking of Topuria before UFC 317. He defeated Jai Herbert with a Come-From-Behind Knock-Out finish.
Pimblett and Topuria again shared a map on UFC 282, and almost came to the pre-combat conference. Since then, the two parties have held online hooks, despite a rare very moment between Topuria and Pimblett on UFC 312 earlier this year.
Three plus years after their hunter hotel argument, Topuria and Pimblett are about to collide in the Octagon after a historic night at UFC 317.
Ilia Topuria's first lightweight title defense could come across Paddy Pimblett
After Pimblett and Topuria's heated faceoff, Pimblett compared their rivalry with the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor Feud on UFC 229. Nurmagomedov started beating McGregor by submission, and years after their fight the tensions remain thick between the two UFC legends.
Pimblett stood up in the lightweight title photo by finishing Michael Chandler on UFC 314 earlier this year. He remains unbeaten in his UFC official period with recent victories over Tony Ferguson, Bobby Green and Jared Gordon.
After their faces at UFC 317, Pimblett and Topuria could make one of the dream fights of the UFC come true. Expect a lively structure that leads to their confrontation in the Octagon.