"He has the audacity to call me fat" - Paddy Pimblett blasts Ilia Topuria for "stupid" move up to lightweight, says he ran from Alexander Volkanovski

Paddy Pimblett recently took shots at Ilia Topuria over his decision to move up to the lightweight division. Last month, UFC CEO Dana White announced that Topuria is vacating his featherweight title to step up a weight class in pursuit of becoming a two-division UFC champion.

White stated that Topuria’s decision was based on his conviction that he had accomplished enough in the 145-pound division, coupled with the increasing challenge of making the weight cut. However, the undefeated Spaniard has yet to have an opponent confirmed for his move-up.

During a recent interview with SHAK MMA, 'The Baddy' voiced his doubts about Topuria’s transition to the lightweight division:

"I was thinking, ‘Wow, you’re stupid. Why have you moved up to this division?' He’s tiny—like 5'5 or 5'6. I don’t understand. He has the audacity to call me fat when he’s saying he can’t make 145 anymore when he’s saying he can’t make 145 anymore when he’s a midget. It just doesn’t make sense."

Pimblett further asserted that 'El Matador' walked away from the featherweight division to avoid a potential rematch with Alexander Volkanovski and the challenge of other top contenders. He also argued that Topuria does not deserve a title shot against reigning champion Islam Makhachev:

"I think he ran from 145, to be honest, because he knew Volkanovski not coming off a knockout loss 12 weeks earlier would give him a much tougher fight than his first fight with him. And then he also had [Movsar] Evloev and [Diego] Lopes to fight."

Check out Paddy Pimblett's comments below (6:28):

Last week, 'El Matador' took to X to tease an upcoming announcement, hinting that it will be something remarkable for his fans. However, it remains to be seen whether he is referring to fight news or something else.

Check out Ilia Topuria's post below:

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Paddy Pimblett accuses Ilia Topuria of copying "Conor McGregor's route" to title shot

In the same interview with SHAK MMA, Paddy Pimblett accused Ilia Topuria of following Conor McGregor’s blueprint to secure a title shot.

However, Pimblett argued that 'El Matador' lacks the same credibility as the former two-division UFC champion and should have defended his featherweight title more times before dictating his own path:

"He just wants to be Conor McGregor, but you can’t be Conor McGregor when you’ve got the charisma of a tin of beans, so it’s one of them. I think everyone’s just copied the McGregor route. I just say it’s a lot more when you defend your belt multiple times, like what Volk did. Volk defended his belt about five times or something like that, and then he had the chance to move up to Islam [Makhachev]. [8:35]