Paddy Pimblett thinks Ilia Topuria is a Conor McGregor wannabe.
Pimblett (23-3 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was in attendance when Topuria (17-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC) knocked out Charles Oliveira to claim the lightweight title in this past Saturday’s UFC 317 headliner at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Pimblett faced off with Topuria in the octagon, and the pair have continued to go at each other ever since.
“The Baddy” accused Topuria of copying both McGregor’s look and trash talk.
“He’s trying to be Conor McGregor, isn’t he?,” Pimblett said on UFC Unfiltered. “He’s got the same tattoos. He even said the other day, ‘I’m gonna put my balls on your forehead,’ to me which is sort of what McGregor said to Chad Mendes.
“He’s just a carbon copy of McGregor. Some people can’t see through that even though you see some people now saying he’s better than McGregor, but he’s not. In the prime, at the same time, McGregor would have knocked him out with the straight left.”
Pimblett and Topuria’s bad blood dates back to an altercation in London when they both shared the same UFC Fight Night card in March 2022. It is projected to potentially be one of the biggest fights in UFC history, and Pimblett is confident he has Topuria rattled like no one has before.
“Against everyone else he’s fought, he’s not emotional,” Pimblett continued on Topuria. “He goes in very stoic. Against me, he’s emotional. Even the other day pushing me. I wasn’t ever going to lay hands on him. I’m not that stupid. I know if I lay hands on him, I don’t get that fight. So, I just called him a little boy and got under his skin as I always do, and he pushed me.”
