'Weren't in our fighting roles'… Ilia Topuria gives his side to friendly encounter with Paddy Pimblett
03/31/2025 04:57 AM
2025 has already been a big year for the newly named ‘La Leyenda’ despite the fact that he’s yet to compete.
Ilia Topuria certainly isn’t afraid to call out the top lightweights like Charles Oliveira as the former featherweight champion looks to make an immediate impact at 155-pounds.
His move up a weight class also means that he now shares a division with his greatest rival to date, Paddy Pimblett.
Despite their history with one another, the recent interaction at UFC London between Topuria and Pimblett was a relatively friendly exchange this time around.
Having recently addressed his decision to leave the 145-pound title behind at a press conference, Topuria also gave his side to the run-in with ‘The Baddy’.
- READ MORE:Paddy Pimblett got badly dropped before landing fight-ending elbow that left opponent a bloody mess
Ilia Topuria says he and Paddy Pimblett weren’t in a fighting mentality
Both Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett weren’t in London just to make an appearance or potentially cross paths with a rival.
The former featherweight king made the trip over to corner his fellow Georgian, Guram Kutateladze, who came up short in the first fight of the night.
In the second bout on the card, Pimblett’s teammate Nathan Fletcher was in action where he suffered a close defeat to Caolan Loughran whilst later on in the night, Next Generation MMA’s Molly McCann announced her retirement after a loss to Alexia Thainara.
‘The Baddy’ has already told his version of events after Pimblett and Topuria smiled at each other and exchanged a fist bump as the Brit left the stage at the ceremonial weigh-ins the day before fight night.
He stated that despite their previous encounters which were far more heated, that doesn’t mean that they can’t share a joke with each other in a situation like this.
Topuria largely echoed the same sentiment during a press conference whilst he was in attendance at WOW 17 in Madrid on March 29.
‘La Leyenda’ said that this meeting between them took place as two athletes who were there for a reason other than competing hence why there wasn’t as much as tension or bad blood on this occasion.
“We just weren’t in our fighting roles. I went to support a friend of mine, he went to support another friend of his, then we met and we greeted each other. At the end of the day we are athletes. But if we enter the field of combat and we have to fight, then the story changes.”
Ilia Topuria is exactly what the UFC needs right now
There has been a debate in recent months about the lack of star quality in the UFC right now, specifically after Alex Pereira’s loss at UFC 313.
Ilia Topuria is one of the biggest arguments against this and whilst he may not be a household name in the United States, just look at the way that the Spanish crowd reacted when he made his entrance at WOW 17.
The other asset that Topuria brings to the table which the UFC needs is that he isn’t afraid to call opponents out and create drama.
If the 28-year-old is able to hit the ground running at lightweight, his star status is only going to continue growing around the world into something truly special.
