UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria appears to have put his feud with Paddy Pimblett to one side.
Topuria is currently taking a break from fighting due to personal and family issues. That resulted in an interim lightweight title fight between Pimblett and Justin Gaethje at UFC 324 on January 24. The winner of that bout is expected to face Topuria. The feud between Topuria and Pimblett started following a heated social media exchange involving controversial comments from Pimblett regarding Topuria’s home country of Georgia and their war with Russia.
The bad blood boiled over into a physical confrontation at a London fighter hotel in 2022 where Paddy threw a hand sanitizer at Ilia, and called him ‘hand sanitizer boy.’ However, the tone has now shifted as Pimblett offered support for Topuria amid the champion’s personal struggles.
“He’s got a lot going on in his personal life. I wish him nothing but the best with it. That’s nothing to do with me and him fighting. That’s his family, and I hope everything goes well. I hope that goes perfectly for him. All I care about is getting him in that octagon and fighting him. Anything in his personal life, I hope it goes well, but you never know. If he doesn’t come back by June, July, he might have to vacate his belt, and I’ll become undisputed champ without even fighting,” Pimblett said
Topuria Reacts
Topuria took notice of the gesture, choosing to put the rivalry aside.
“I always said he looked like someone who’s a super entertaining guy who did a superb job. He had his slips with a tweet that he made about Georgia. But I think we all learn from our mistakes. Deep down, I notice that he is a person who understands family problems, personal problems, and respects it. What will happen in the octagon is something that really excites everyone. At the end of the day, we are professionals, and we’ll have a professional match,” Ilia said
Topuria’s career is at a crossroads. He has expressed his desire to face Islam Makhachev, which would require him to move up to welterweight, knowing a win makes him the first ever three-weight UFC champion. However, Topuria has also expressed his aim to pursue a boxing bout, meaning that the champion has plenty to ponder moving forward.