What at one point seemed like a possibility, now seems like a mismatch, at least according to Ilia Topuria’s coach Jorge Climent.
Just two years ago, there was plenty of talk of a potential fight between Topuria, who now holds the UFC featherweight title, and lightweight star Paddy Pimblett.
The two fighters got into a short skirmish at the host hotel for UFC Fight Night 204 in London back in March 2022, and they had a long history of social media exchanges, which were sparked by Pimblett’s comments poking fun at Russo-Georgian War.
“The truth is that at that moment there was anger because of all the history of Ilia’s family members fighting in the war, so he truly wanted to f*ck him up, but Paddy didn’t want to fight,” Climent told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I don’t know if it’s because they wanted to take care of him or the UFC wanted to protect him, but (Ilia) tried to get the fight.”
Pimblett eventually issued a public apology for making fun of the Georgia’s losing efforts in the Russo-Georgian War, and the two continued with their careers in their respective divisions.
Things between Pimblett and Topuria resurfaced a bit after Pimblett reacted to Topuria’s KO win over Max Holloway last month at UFC 308, saying he thinks he’d still beat him if the two were to fight.
“I don’t know if that kid is in condition to fight someone with a title right now,” Climent said. “Who has he beat? All his fights, they put someone alright in front of him, just so he can exist and stay relevant. He’s very mediatic because of how he talks and all that, but I don’t see him having the quality to fight Ilia, and I don’t think he deserves it.”
When asked about a potential matchup between Topuria and Pimblett, and how it could potentially go, Climent’s answer was a simple one:
“What would that be, abuse?”