Paddy Pimblett has never been shy about telling it like it is. This week, the Scouser aimed both barrels at his longtime rival Ilia Topuria — and he didn't miss.
“I think Ilia's just being a sore loser, lads, being a little b*tch about it.”
The target is Topuria's handling of his UFC Freedom 250 loss to Justin Gaethje. Back in June, on the UFC's White House card, Gaethje handed "El Matador" the first defeat of his professional career, leaving him with serious facial injuries before his corner stopped the fight after the fourth round. It was a changing of the guard at lightweight.
Then came the accusation. After completing his final medical tests earlier this month, Topuria took to X with a loaded message: "Next time I'll make sure they check Justin's gloves so he doesn't put anything weird on them." The implication — that Gaethje loaded his gloves — was as serious as it gets in this sport.
Almost nobody is buying it. Dana White has publicly dismissed the glove-tampering claims. And on his YouTube channel, Pimblett dismantled the accusation with the blunt-force logic of a man who has been through the commission process himself.
"Ilia is trying to say that he had stuff in his gloves, which he definitely never," Pimblett said. "You know, the commission watch you get your hands wrapped."
Then came the verdict: "I think Ilia's just being a sore loser, lads, being a little b*tch about it."
Pimblett, the No. 5 lightweight, also weighed in on the division's tangled title picture — and even there, he couldn't resist a dig at the new No. 1 contender. "With Arman, you could say the title's next," he said of Arman Tsarukyan, fresh off his UFC 331 knockout of Mauricio Ruffy. "Obviously, Arman has just put himself forward to be the No. 1 contender, but at the same time, he did only beat ranked [No.] 7. His last win before that was ranked 6, Dan Hooker, who's now ranked around 13. He's lost another two or three fights since then. We'll see what happens. We'll see how everything unfolds."
He also left the door open for chaos at the top: "With all the stuff coming out now with Ilia and Justin, it wouldn't surprise me if they end up fighting and having a rematch."
That uncertainty is where Pimblett's own future sits. The 24-4 contender submitted Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 329 to rebound from his interim title loss to Gaethje, and he could plausibly end up fighting either Topuria or Tsarukyan depending on who gets the next crack at the champion. A grudge match with Topuria — the rivalry that has simmered for years — remains one of the most marketable fights the division can make.
For now, though, Pimblett's message to Topuria is the story: take the loss like a champion, or take the criticism that comes with not doing so. Topuria has not responded.
