By EssentiallySports,Sudeep Sinha

Copyright yardbarker

Topuria suggests Pimblett only became popular because he is good with the media, and claimed Pimblett wasn’t even ranked. Hearing this, Pimblett shot back, stating, “Well, that’s a load of s—t, in it? Because I’m ranked now. I’m ranked seven.” He finished by issuing an open challenge to Topuria to fight him in Bernabeu.

“I’d love to come to Bernabeu and punch your face in… In front of your fake countrymen, because you’re really German. I’d love to come and punch your face in infront of 90,000 people in Bernabeu, in enemy territory, for me,” Pimblett said during the interview. Regardless, Pimblett doesn’t seem to think much of Topuria’s title run either.

Pimblett claims Ilia Topuria had ‘easiest road to the belt’

Paddy ‘The Baddy’ isn’t sold on Topuria’s path to UFC gold. The Liverpool native argued that Topuria’s road to the featherweight title was far less daunting than advertised. “I think Ilia had the easiest road to the belt,” Pimblett told EldoberdanMMA. “Who did he beat? Ryan Hall, Josh Emmett, Bryce Mitchell… That was one of the easiest routes I’ve ever seen to a title shot.”

He even downplayed Topuria’s signature victory, suggesting Alexander Volkanovski had just suffered a brutal knockout against Islam Makhachev before losing to the Spaniard. “He wouldn’t have beat Volk if Volk wasn’t knocked out like eight weeks earlier, twelve weeks earlier,” Pimblett claimed.

“Everything’s happened at the right time for Topuria apart from when he fights me,” Pimblett added. “If I had the easy route, I would have been champion by now.”

Clearly, neither fighter is a fan of the other—this perfectly sets up a mega showdown between the English and Spanish fighters. All that is left is for Dana White to make it official. Would you like to watch this fight?