Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett separated after UFC knockout of Charles Oliveira
Paddy Pimblett found himself on the receiving end of a shove from Ilia Topuria after he made his intentions clear for the first crack at the newly crowned UFC lightweight champion.
Following his rapid knockout of Charles Oliveira in the opening round of UFC 317's headline bout, Topuria was barely given a moment to recover before Pimblett leapt into the octagon to challenge him. In the heat of the moment, Pimblett congratulated Topuria with the words, "Well done, lad, well done, that was a heavy knockout. I give you that, respect, but you will never knock me out."
The freshly minted two-weight world champ Topuria didn't mince words, branding Pimblett a "p****y" while Pimblett stood firm, claiming Topuria couldn't replicate his performance against Oliveira on him. Topuria retorted to the defiant Brit: "Watch what is going to happen with you," and continued, "I'm going to take your head out. I'm going to submit you, you little p*****. I'm going to put my balls on your forehead, you p****."
The fiery exchange concluded with a shove from Topuria as security intervened to separate them, reports the Mirror.
UFC boss Dana White later voiced his regret about Pimblett's intrusion into the octagon, showing his displeasure by stating: "I don't know who the hell let him in there. That should've never happened. Let's start there. I was already back in my room, or that would've never happened."
Despite the drama, White remained non-committal about awarding Pimblett a shot at the title, given that the Brit sits at No.8 in the rankings. "My thing with Topuria is his wife and kid are in the octagon," he added. "That's not the fight. It's just, yeah. It shouldn't happen. That's not really what we do. I don't really give a s*** if it's fun to watch or not. That shouldn't have happened. Plus, he wins a second title in a higher division. It was a bad call by whoever let him in there."
Arman Tsarukyan, who sits at the top of the contender list, took to social media to hint that the new champ is dodging him. "It was never supposed to be Charles," he tweeted.
"I can finish Ilia, simple as that, and he knows it too. That's why he's avoiding the real #1 contender."
Before Pimblett entrance, Topuria shared his thoughts on his quick win over Oliveira. "I already said it, I represent the new generation of mixed martial arts," he declared.
"This is the next level of the game. This is what I represent. I did exactly what we had planned. Boom, his lights were out."
He then shifted his attention to Pimblett with a challenge. "We have some unsavoury characters in this arena. There's a blonde woman and someone whose back hurts when it's time to deliver. Whoever is ready for me, I'm here. Listen, I don't think Paddy will accept it. But if he believes he's ready... bring that blonde woman here."
The feud between Pimblett and Topuria started three years ago when Pimblett made controversial remarks about Topuria's home country, Georgia, and then hurled a bottle of hand sanitiser at his opponent.
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