"I hope to see something special that could motivate me" - Ilia Topuria seemingly switches focus from Paddy Pimblett and eyes potential return to featherweight

Ilia Topuria no longer appears to be eyeing a matchup against Paddy Pimblett. 'El Matador' hinted at a return to 145lbs in the immediate aftermath of Saturday night's co-main event clash between Dan Ige and Movsar Evloev.

However, Topuria was unimpressed by both fighters and needs something special to lure him towards a featherweight return. The Georgian fighter wrote on Twitter:

"Movsar and Ige both suck. I hope to see something special that could motivate me to fight the winner. #UFCVegas56"

Evloev faced his first top-ten matchup in Ige, co-headlining UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik. The Russian overwhelmed Ige over the course of three rounds, although '50K' never appeared to be out of the fight. After a dominating third-round in ground control, the undefeated prospect extended his record to 16-0.

Meanwhile, Topuria started his UFC career as a featherweight, racking up a three-fight win streak that included two first-round knockouts. 'El Matador' moved up to 155lbs for his last outing, where he earned a bonus-winning comeback victory over Jai Herbert. The undefeated Georgian prospect is undoubtedly a force to reckon with irrespective of the weight class.

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When Ilia Topuria called out Paddy Pimblett

In March, Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett were involved in a hotel altercation leading up to their respective fights at UFC London. A war of words resulted in 'The Baddy' throwing a hand-sanitizer bottle at Topuria. However, the Georgian's teammates stopped him from taking any rash action.

Topuria later explained that his beef with Pimblett stemmed from a Twitter back-and-forth that 'The Baddy' had with fellow Georgian fighter Guram Kutateladze. The Liverpudlian made insensitive comments about the Russo-Georgian war leading to a lot of wrath from the Georgian brigade.

Topuria even proceeded to call out Pimblett after his impressive lightweight win over Jai Herbert at UFC London. The 25-year-old said in his post-fight octagon interview:

“He’s a b****. Paddy Pimblett, win or lose, I want to fight you next and kick your a** like I did the last time,” Topuria shouted. “F*** you. I want that blonde b****. That Paddy b****.”

Watch Topuria's callout of Pimblett below: