‘Everything About Ilia Topuria Is Fake’: “‘El Matador’ Called a Fraud After Making a Friendly Gesture Toward Paddy Pimblett

UFC fans are on fraud watch after what they just witnessed between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett at the UFC London weigh-in ceremony. Topuria has been very vocal about how he would knock Paddy out if he ever saw him.

So when fans noticed that both fighters were going to cross paths on staglast night, they expected fireworks, but what they got instead was fist bumps.

Comments like, “Everything about Ilia is fake lol,” and “What the f*ck The UFC is fake,” quickly flooded social media. The sudden shift from tough talk to friendly gestures had people questioning Topuria’s authenticity.

Others took it even further, pointing fingers at the UFC’s partnership with a pro wrestling promotion as a possible explanation. “What…??? Effects of merging with WWE… The UFC is now forming storylines instead of bad blood feuds like DC and Jones,” one fan sarcastically suggested.

The whole situation left some feeling like Topuria couldn’t even keep his own narrative straight. “bruh failed to stay in character,” a  fan put it bluntly. Meanwhile, another fan was more went a little A-rated, saying, “Ilia is such a c*ck. Paddy disrespected his country.”

Another angry comment dug even deeper, “blonde monk was slandering ilia in every interview past 3 years.. Only to drops his pant off when he sees him such a duck move..”

It should be noted that by the rules and laws governing men in 2025, getting violent outside the octagon is a crime. So, it does make sense that neither fighter wanted any smoke.

Besides, Paddy is ranked 12th and is fighting Michael Chandler next month, while Ilia is awaiting a title shot. There’s just too much of gap to bridge to call this a proper rivalry.

However, it does seem rather hypocritical on the part of the fighters since the fist bump between the pair came just hours after ‘The Baddy’ himself called out Ilia to a fight during a round of interviews with the media.

Paddy shooting his shot

‘The Baddy’ had an interesting proposition for Topuria during the UFC London ceremonial weigh-in event. Before the event, the Liverpudlian, who is cornering his good friend Molly McCann was answering some of the questions from the media seeing as his rival Topuria was going to be on stage for the event.

“It looks like he’s just sitting out, waiting for Islam. But I personally think I should be the one to welcome him to the lightweight division.” Pimblett said.

“It wouldn’t need a title on that pay-per-view. Me vs. him could just headline the pay-per-view. You wouldn’t need any other fight. It would sell itself.”, he said. 

Pimblett has been calling for this matchup for years now, even back when the Spaniard was making his way up the featherweight division.

It is an interesting fight to make. However, it is also obvious that Pimblett is just shooting his shot, hoping to climb up the championship ladder quickly. If he were to fight Topuria and somehow beat him, the scoucer would see himself fast-tracked into the 155 lb title contention.