British UFC lightweight fighter Paddy Pimblett made an unflattering remark about the promotion's Georgian welterweight Ilia Topuria, with whom he had a scuffle earlier this year.
Did he mention me again? He’s a midget. He’s tiny. Bryce Mitchell rocked him tonight, you know what I mean? I’ll be honest, take my hat off to Ilia Topuria. He looked good tonight, but he gassed a bit in that second round. He looked tired and Bryce who’s a grappler rocked him. He wouldn’t be able to deal with my reach.
Pimblett fought American Jared Gordon on December 11 in the co-main event of UFC 282. The fight lasted the whole distance and ended in Paddy's favor by unanimous decision of the judges. The Englishman had 20 wins and three defeats on his record.
At the same tournament Topuria defeated Bryce Mitchell by submission (manual triangle choke) in the second round. At UFC Fight Night 204 in March 2022, Ilia knocked out Jai Herbert in the second round. The 25-year-old Topuria has 13 wins and no losses under his belt.