It was always a matter of when, not if, these two would cross paths in Qatar.
It is the UFC’s first trip to Qatar, and the occasion has drawn a number of big names to Doha.
Among them are several fighters who will be in action this weekend. Arman Tsarukyan takes on Dan Hooker in the main event, while Belal Muhammad faces Ian Machado Garry in an important welterweight bout.
The main event is not the only lightweight presence in town. Champion Ilia Topuria is there for his brother’s second fight with the promotion, and Paddy Pimblett has travelled over as well to corner teammates Luke Riley and Shem Rock.
‘El Matador’ and ‘The Baddy’ have had issues going back more than three years, so it was always likely that something would happen between them during fight week.
Ilia Topuria’s and Paddy Pimblett run into each other ahead of UFC Qatar
Early in fight week, Topuria and Tsarukyan had a close call outside an elevator at the fighter hotel, a near-miss that appeared to go unnoticed by both men.
The same could not be said when the Spaniard came across Pimblett for the first time.
A video posted by Alvaro Colmenaro captured Pimblett and Topuria’s entourages walking past each other, with words exchanged between the two.
‘The Baddy’ called out to Topuria, asking, “What’s happening, you alright?”
After Topuria responded with a simple “All good,” someone – though it was not clear if it was Topuria himself or someone from his group – appeared to shout an expletive back at Pimblett as they were moving away.
The Briton then replied: “Come on, Chorizo. Calm down.”
Paddy Pimblett accuses Ilia Topuria of stalling over UFC title fight
‘The Baddy’ is pushing for his long-awaited matchup with the champion and is growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in getting it signed.
Ahead of their encounter in Qatar, Pimblett once again questioned why the fight has not been finalised, pointing fingers at Topuria for holding things up.
Speaking to JNMedia, he said: “Me and Topuria’s got the storyline built in, it’s all there.
“It’s half nice for me that he’s got the belt even though I don’t like him and I rather he not be a two-division champ. It’s better for me that he won it because if Charles had won I would have definitely had to fight someone else first.
“But with Ilia having the belt, it’s just a storyline that’s already set up and ready to go. I don’t know why it’s not already announced and made and written in a contract. We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks”
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