Paddy Pimblett explains how beef with UFC Lightweight Champion Ilia Topuria started

Paddy Pimblett has detailed how his issues with Ilia Topuria began.

Pimblett and Topuria have been at odds since 2021. The two had a physical altercation at a fighter hotel, which saw “The Baddy” throw a hand sanitizer bottle at “El Matador.” The two also nearly came to blows during a press conference in 2022.

Some aren’t fully aware of how the bad blood between Pimblett and Topuria began to brew, and “The Paddy” is sharing his side of the story.

RELATED: ILIA TOPURIA CALLS PADDY PIMBLETT ONE OF THE “EASIEST FIGHTS” AT LIGHTWEIGHT: “I COULD CHOOSE THE WAY I FINISH HIM”

Pimblett Thinks Topuria’s Anger Was Misguided

Paddy Pimblett was joined by UFC featherweight veteran Brian Ortega for a new video on his YouTube channel. During the video, Pimblett addressed the origins of his beef with Ilia Topuria (h/t MMAJunkie).

“The other Georgian fighter, Guram [Kutateladze], tweeted at me saying something, and I tweeted back something like, ‘Oh, shut up you fake Russian,'” Pimblett said. “They all took offense of it, and I’m there sitting at the house, ‘Why did they all took offense to it?’ Obviously, when you say something, and you offend someone you’re going to say something else along the lines. They started tweeting me, so I said something like, ‘No wonder why the Russians terrorized you,’ and then I went to bed and woke up the next morning and I had the craziest amount of hate mail.”

Pimblett eventually apologized for the post, but he believes he was being chastised for something he didn’t even say.

“They all said I was talking about the war, and I was like, ‘What war?’ I only had found out the next day that Russia had been at war with Georgia,” Pimblett said. “I didn’t know that at the time. My Twitter blew up, ‘I’m like, what’s going on here? What’s happening?’ People are saying that I’m saying stuff about war. It had nothing to do with war. I just said a word. Back in Liverpool, if you say something like ‘terrorize’ it is like you’re being bullied. That’s just something we say. He still says it to this day, and he said it on (Joe) Rogan (Podcast), that I was happy that Russia dropped bombs on Georgian kids. I never said that. I don’t know how he’s made that up in his own mind, but that’s what he says.”

The issues between “The Baddy” and Topuria certainly haven’t cooled down. The two had a faceoff inside the Octagon at the conclusion of UFC 317. The staredown ended when “El Matador” shoved Pimblett.