In case you were wondering, there's still no love lost between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett.
In case you were wondering, there's still no love lost between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett.
The reigning UFC lightweight champion wasted little time mocking his longtime rival following Saturday night's UFC 324 main event. Just hours after Justin Gaethje defied the odds and battered Pimblett in a thrilling fight to capture the interim lightweight championship, Topuria reacted by rubbing some extra salt in the wound, mocking Pimblett for missing out on "the biggest paycheck of your life" by forfeiting the opportunity to meet the pound-for-pound star in what would've been a blockbuster unification bout.
Said Topuria on social media:
Little sausage, the only thing you had to do was beat a 38 year old guy. You just lost the biggest paycheck of your life. You were going to get rich if you won. Justin, all I can say is congratulations… and I’d like to tell you to get ready, but you’re screwed no matter what.
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) January 25, 2026
Little sausage, the only thing you had to do was beat a 38 year old guy. You just lost the biggest paycheck of your life. You were going to get rich if you won. Justin, all I can say is congratulations… and I’d like to tell you to get ready, but you’re screwed no matter what.
Topuria, Uncrowned's No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter, is currently sidelined due to personal issues after claiming he is being extorted with "false allegations of domestic abuse" while undergoing a messy divorce and battle for custody over his young daughter. In recent weeks, Topuria said he expects to return sometime between April and June, and targeted the winner of Gaethje vs. Pimblett as his next opponent.
UFC CEO Dana White confirmed late Saturday night that a unification bout between Topuria and Gaethje is the UFC's plan for the lightweight division, with Gaethje calling for the bout to take place in June at the promotion's much-discussed White House event.
Topuria and Pimblett have been at odds since a 2021 altercation inside the fighter hotel ahead of a UFC London event that resulted in a near-brawl, which spawned from disparaging remarks Pimblett made toward another Georgian fighter's heritage. Topuria, the son of Georgian parents, took umbrage with Pimblett's comments and confronted the Englishman, leading Pimblett to infamously throw a bottle of hand sanitizer into Topuria’s face, sparking his preferred nickname for the champ: “Hand Sanitizer Boy.”
Given their combined star power and the fiery history between them, Topuria vs. Pimblett would've likely been one of the biggest fights of 2026. Alas, at least for now, it wasn't meant to be.
Category: General Sports
