Topuria's eternal enemy attacks him again: "He's a dwarf"

In mixed martial arts (MMA) there are rivalries that, without ever coming to fruition inside a cage, become known to all fans. This is the case of Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett . Both have shared this enmity for years, due to some statements in which the Englishman mocked the Russian invasion of Georgia. This led to them coming to blows backstage in 2022 when they coincided on the same card. However, as they do not belong to the same weight class and the Spanish-Georgian's career took off more quickly, it made it impossible for their paths to intertwine. However, there has been a paradigm shift whereby this fight would be much closer than before.

Recently, the announcement that had been echoing for weeks was made official. Ilia Topuria is leaving the featherweight (145 pounds or 65.8 kilos) to move up permanently to lightweight (155 pounds or 70.3 kilos). With this, both El Matador and Pimblett coincide in the category, and although they are far apart in the rankings, there is more opportunity for a clash than before. Faced with this move, the Englishman expressed his opinion in an interview with the media 'Round Eight Boxing'. " I want that fight [with Topuria]. Just to prove that everyone is wrong about me," he said.

He also did not miss the opportunity to mention the size difference between the two: "He's a dwarf. He's not a lightweight. He should have stayed at featherweight. It will be the ruin of his career ," Pimblett said. This is something that the Liverpool native has been waiting for for a long time. A few weeks ago, on the YouTube channel of 'El Doberdan 13', he was asked about Topuria, as rumours were beginning to circulate that he could move up to 155 to face Islam Makhachev , something he was not very keen on, although he would be willing to face him.

«I think he needs to defend the belt at least three times. If he wants to come to lightweight, I'm here waiting for him . I don't think anyone else in the division has a better right to welcome him than me,» said Pimblett. Despite this, he now has a tough fight against Michael Chandler on the Miami card, at UFC 314 , where if he wins, he would take a significant leap in the rankings.

On the other hand, it is still unknown who could be Ilia Topuria's next opponent, as Islam Makhachev continues to delay the fight . In addition, the other option, which is Charles Oliveira , has not made any statement on the matter, so the Spanish-Georgian's next commitment is still unknown.