Paddy Pimblett went off on Islam Makhachev.
In just a matter of days, Makhachev will look to add his name to the history books when the former lightweight titleholder challenges reigning welterweight king Jack Della Maddalena in the UFC 322 main event at Madison Square Garden.
In May, Makhachev relinquished his lightweight belt after announcing his bid to move up and become a two-division champion. A month later, Ilia Topuria established himself as Makhachev’s successor, handily defeating Charles Oliviera to add the 155-pound crown to his own growing collection of accolades.
Since then, Pimblett has emerged as the favorite to challenge Topuria for his newly-gotten gold after the two engaged in a heated face-off following Topuria’s win over ‘Do Bronx’ at UFC 317.
While there’s plenty of backstory to make Topuria vs. Pimblett an easy sell for fight fans, Makhachev doesn’t see ‘The Baddy’ posing much of a threat to Topuria.
“No, man [Paddy is not a real challenge],” Makhachev told ESPN. “Arman [Tsarukyan] has to be next because this guy is deserving, you know. He made a mistake when he was supposed to fight me… But he’s still number one in the division, and he has to fight for the title.
Needless to say, Pimblett didn’t appreciate Makhachev’s comments.
“I hope JDM absolutely punches his little head in, yeah, I hope JDM batters him,” Pimblett told UFC Europe. “I think JDM is a much better boxer, and if he can keep it on the feet, then he will absolutely batter him, and I hope he does.
“Islam was chatting pony the other day, saying who have I beat when he got the title shot at lightweight after beating Bobby Green, someone who I beat faster than [him], the little bum. How about that one, Islam? Get back down to lightweight and I’ll punch your head in as well.”
Once upon a time, a clash between Pimblett and Makhachev seemed preposterous, but after the Liverpudlian started putting big wins together, fans were starting to salivate over the idea.
Unfortunately, Makhachev didn’t stick around long enough for the fight to come to fruition.
