“I hate him. I absolutely hate him. Like, I want to inflict pain on his life,” Paddy Pimblett didn’t mince words as he added salt to the rivalry with Ilia Topuria. Although the fighters have never shared a cage, their bad blood runs deep. But Pimblett seems to have put their differences aside for once, stepping in on Topuria’s side.

The Liverpool fighter is set to fight for the interim lightweight belt against Justin Gaethje, with Topuria taking a brief hiatus from UFC. While the fight is sizzling up, after Gaethje bounced back from his retirement rumors, Pimblett has offered his two cents on ‘El Matador’s rough patch in his personal life.

Paddy Pimblett extends well-wishes to his long-standing rival

The MMA fandom is buzzing with the chatter of Ilia Topuria’s rumored divorce from his wife, Giorgina Uzcategui Badell. Owing to the tough stretch, the lightweight champion has put his crown on hold, focusing on resolving the issues. Consequently, even Pimblett seems to have dialed down, showing support for Topuria.

“Obviously me and Ilia might not like each other a lot, but I wish him nothing but the best with all his family sh-t. It’s nothing to do with fighting, but when I win this belt, I’m the champ for now. I don’t care if it says interim on it. I’m the champ. He’s out of the cage. I’m the f—ing champ,” Pimblett shared his feelings with Full Send MMA.

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But that does not mean the Liverpudlian has let their beef slide. In fact, as the Full Send interviewer suggested, Pimblett is treating the interim belt to be nothing less than the actual lightweight crown.

“Yeah, that’s it, because that’s the belt that’s in front of me. I’m not gonna do a Justin and throw it on the floor and say I’m waiting for the real one. This is the real one. Ilia is out of the cage. This is the real belt, and I’m coming to take it home with me,” Pimblett said, tossing digs at Gaethje, who threw his interim belt on the ground after his victory over Tony Ferguson back at UFC 249.

By the looks of it, Pimblett hasn’t let the LW belt or its champion off the hook; however, still making room for compassion. On a similar note, Topuria’s difficult stretch has attracted support from his peers, including Max Holloway, who had gone through a messy divorce a few years ago. Another rival-turned-fan, Sean O’Malley, also jumped in with his support for the lightweight champion.

But the drama inside the lightweight division isn’t one to end so soon, despite the Liverpudlian’s considerate message to ‘El Matador.’

Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria trade barbs

The bad blood between the lightweight stars needs no introduction. With snippets of the two going for each other’s heads in online banters, they have become the forefront of drama in the lightweight division. The rift that started with a controversial comment by Pimblett has since evolved into more violent altercations.

At UFC Qatar weigh-ins, the two were split seconds apart from recreating the hotel conflict at UFC Fight Night 204 in London. ‘El Matador’ entered the building alongside his brother, Aleksandre Topuria, while Pimblett was gearing up to corner his teammate, Luke Riley, making his Octagon debut. That’s when the Georgian called out Pimblett.

Starting with mere greetings, the encounter was bound to end with verbal jabs at each other. Topuria called Pimblett “p***y”. The Liverpudlian didn’t back down either, countering with, “Come on, chorizo, calm down,” insulting Topuria with expletives. Fortunately, the exchange didn’t escalate into a physical confrontation, with the UFC officials keeping the situation under control.

However, this brings into the picture the years-long rivalry between the two, which has refused to cool down. “If they give me the chance to be with him alone in a room, I’m going to kill this motherf*****,” Topuria directly threatened Pimblett.

The Liverpudlian countered, “I’d like that fight to go 4 minutes and 50 seconds into the fifth round, and I’ve landed 907 elbows, and I’ve disfigured his face. I don’t want a quick knockout. I want to put him through pain.” Will Pimblett and Topuria take the beef to the Octagon in 2026?