Ilia Topuria competes for the vacant UFC lightweight title in the main event of the upcoming UFC 317 pay-per-view card. While Topuria does not hold that title, the never-lacking-in-confidence former UFC featherweight champ seems to have concluded that he will beat ex-UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira in their June 28 matchup and that he will walk away from T-Mobile Arena as the 155-pound titleholder. With his customary cocksureness, Topuria is already looking at a potential opponent for his first lightweight title defense. That fighter is Paddy Pimblett.

The Origin Of The Ilia Topuria And Paddy Pimblett Conflict

Not one to forget a slight, Topuria and Pimblett have had beef since 2021, when Pimblett got into an online argument with UFC fighter Guram Kutateladze, who hails from the country of Georgia. During that back-and-forth, Pimblett posted a since-deleted remark, “Lad how stupid are these Georgians man, no wonder the Russians terrorise their lives.'”

That remark led to a confrontation in the fighter hotel in London in March 2022, where a punch and a bottle of hand sanitizer were thrown.

“It didn’t happen because he called me something yesterday. It comes from a long time ago,” Topuria explained at the time on The MMA Hour. “He was arguing with one of my close friends once on Twitter, and he posted [something]

like, ‘Now I understand why Russia destroyed Georgia because you’re dumb,’ and it makes my blood boil. When I saw it, I was surprised. I didn’t believe it when I saw that tweet because in 2008, I was living in Georgia when the war happened, and it was a very difficult time for me, for my family, for all my friends, and for my country. A lot of innocent people, kids, were dying in that war.

“And to see how someone is joking about that, it makes my blood boil,” Topuria continued. “So I texted with him, I don’t remember what I tweeted, and when they gave me the fight in London, he text me like three weeks ago, like, ‘I can’t wait to see you in London. We’ll see if you have the balls to tell me everything you texted me on Twitter.’ Bulls—t.”

“Can you imagine if I started to make some jokes about the war, where their children are dying, where people are suffering?” Topuria continued. “You can’t talk about that. So this is why.

“The same situation [happened to us], we were living in Georgia in 2008,” Topuria added. “The same situation. I was living there, and a lot of guys from my class, my friends, I saw all of them out there, their parents were dying in the war, and crazy situations — I can’t even explain how the situation was at that time. [It bothers me] when I hear someone joking about that.”

Topuria and Pimblett fought on that London card with Topuria knocking out Jai Herbert in the first round of their lightweight bout. Meanwhile, Pimblett defeated Kazula Vargas via submission. Both men earned “Performance of the Night” bonuses for their wins.

The Topuria Vs. Pimblett Beef Continues

Topuria and Pimblett reignited their feud in December 2022 when they shared a stage for the UFC 282 press conference.

During that press conference, Pimblett said to Topuria, “Are you talking English? English? Speak English for the people, lad, not German or Spanish like you’re from, you mongrel. You pretend to be Georgian, but you’re not. You were born in Germany, and you live in Spain. You were born in Germany, and you live in Spain. You’re a little mongrel. That’s what you are. You’re a little mongrel.”

Those words did not sit well with Topuria, as he stood and threatened Pimblett during the event before things seemed to cool down, at least at the time.

Both men fought on the PPV card on that event, with Topuria opening the main card with a submission win over Bryce Mitchell. Meanwhile, Pimblett defeated Jared Gordon via decision in the co-main event that night. Topuria earned a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his stoppage.

Since UFC 282, Topuria has won, defended, and relinquished the UFC featherweight crown. Topuria knocked out Alexander Volkanovski to claim that title and then knocked out Max Holloway in defense of the belt.

As for Pimblett, he is the No. 8 ranked UFC lightweight. His most recent win is an April 2025 TKO victory over Michael Chandler.

Ilia Topuria Calls Out Paddy Pimblett For His First (Potential) UFC Lightweight Title Fight

“Honestly, if I could choose a fight, I would fight him because I hate him,”told ESPN Deportes in Spanish (via MMA Junkie) “He’s a pain in the ass. I’d love to give that fight to the fans, because for a long time, I believe that in the UFC, you haven’t seen a real fight. Two people who really want to fight each other, and what better way than to fight in front of everyone and put on a show? I know what’s going to happen, and it won’t be good for him.”

Pimblett does not have a fight scheduled. Topuria faces Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317 for the vacant UFC lightweight title.