“Lad, how stupid are these Georgians, man… no wonder the Russians terrorize their lives,” Paddy Pimblett had remarked in a now-deleted tweet during a spat with Georgian UFC lightweight Guram Kutateladze in 2021. Since then, he has been embroiled in a heated feud with the lightweight champion Ilia Topuria. While Pimblett later apologized, the Georgian-Spaniard considered the remark deeply disrespectful to his heritage and vowed to settle the score.

Tensions boiled over when the two clashed in a hotel two days before UFC Fight Night 204 in London. Speaking on the Full Send podcast earlier this year, Topuria said, “He said something like, ‘Now I understand why the Russians bombed Georgia.’” The rivalry reignited in June after Topuria became the lightweight champion by beating Charles Oliveira and faced off against Pimblett inside the Octagon. Now, Pimblett insists Topuria is fabricating the story.

Paddy Pimblett proposes a fight in Bernabeu

Speaking to EldoberdanMMA recently while watching a clip of Topuria on the Joe Rogan podcast, Pimblett was confronted with the claim that he made the comments Topuria described. Pimblett firmly denied the allegation, saying, “I never said anything about a bomb. He just lies. I never once mentioned war. This still p—es me off to this day.” He went on to explain his position, adding, “I said the Russians terrorize your lives because when I said something in a tweet earlier, they all bit into me mentioning Russia, and I have no idea what the beef is with Russia. I just jumped on it.” Paddy Pimblett also reacted after watching another clip of Ilia Topuria dismissing his achievements in the UFC.

Topuria suggests Pimblett only became popular because he is good with the media, and claimed Pimblett wasn’t even ranked. Hearing this, Pimblett shot back, stating, “Well, that’s a load of s—t, in it? Because I’m ranked now. I’m ranked seven.” He finished by issuing an open challenge to Topuria to fight him in Bernabeu.

“I’d love to come to Bernabeu and punch your face in… In front of your fake countrymen, because you’re really German. I’d love to come and punch your face in infront of 90,000 people in Bernabeu, in enemy territory, for me,” Pimblett said during the interview. Regardless, Pimblett doesn’t seem to think much of Topuria’s title run either.

Pimblett claims Ilia Topuria had ‘easiest road to the belt’

Paddy ‘The Baddy’ isn’t sold on Topuria’s path to UFC gold. The Liverpool native argued that Topuria’s road to the featherweight title was far less daunting than advertised. “I think Ilia had the easiest road to the belt,” Pimblett told EldoberdanMMA. “Who did he beat? Ryan Hall, Josh Emmett, Bryce Mitchell… That was one of the easiest routes I’ve ever seen to a title shot.”

He even downplayed Topuria’s signature victory, suggesting Alexander Volkanovski had just suffered a brutal knockout against Islam Makhachev before losing to the Spaniard. “He wouldn’t have beat Volk if Volk wasn’t knocked out like eight weeks earlier, twelve weeks earlier,” Pimblett claimed.

“Everything’s happened at the right time for Topuria apart from when he fights me,” Pimblett added. “If I had the easy route, I would have been champion by now.”

Clearly, neither fighter is a fan of the other—this perfectly sets up a mega showdown between the English and Spanish fighters. All that is left is for Dana White to make it official. Would you like to watch this fight?