UFC contender Paddy Pimblett is raising the temperature ahead of a rumoured championship bout with old rival Ilia Topuria early next year.

Pimblett remains unbeaten in his UFC career to date, with his record showing recent high profile wins over the likes of Michael Chandler and Tony Ferguson, however he arguably first came to prominence in the organisation several years ago following a heated backstage incident during a UFC event in London in 2022. The pair exchanged words before a brief altercation broke out, with security stepping in to separate them — but not before the Liverpool man threw a bottle of hand sanitiser at his foe.

Pimblett has since been strongly linked to a fight with Topuria, who has captured titles in both the featherweight before relinquishing it ahead of what would be a successful pursuit of 155-pound gold in a bout to contest the vacant championship with Charles Oliveira.

“The incident backstage has turned into all this,” Pimblett told Marca. “He tried to jump me. When I was on my own and he was with like ten other people, he tried to attack me. Made himself famous off the back of my name. He thinks he’s too good to fight me. You wouldn’t be where you’re at without me.”

“I said when he moved up to lightweight, I should be the one to welcome him,” Pimblett said. “I should have been his first fight at lightweight. But it never happened, and he got gifted a title shot.”

“He’s fake. He’s so fake, like half his followers. It’s been proven, half his followers on Instagram are bought. He’s the fakest person ever. He’s just a McGregor copycat and I’m getting sick of him.”

While the title fight has yet to be confirmed, it would feature two fighters unbeaten in UFC competition. Pimblett holds a 7-0 record in the promotion (23-3 overall), while Topuria stands at 9-0, with an overall professional record of 17-0.