Paddy Pimblett just did something that transcended trash talk. He spent $13,700 on the corner stool Ilia Topuria sat on when his corner pulled him out before the fifth round against Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250, posted a photo of it on social media, and captioned it simply “collector’s item.”
That single purchase encapsulates everything this rivalry is and why the UFC needs to make this fight happen.
What Paddy Pimblett Just Did to His Own Career
At UFC 329 earlier this month, Paddy Pimblett submitted Benoit Saint Denis with a D’Arce choke in under a minute in the co-main event. It was the biggest win of his career, and it was emphatic.
He saw an early takedown attempt, locked in the choke before a minute had elapsed, and walked out of T-Mobile Arena with renewed momentum and a legitimate argument for a fight with someone who matters in the lightweight rankings. The timing could not have been better given everything that has happened to Ilia Topuria since June.
The Justin Gaethje Comparison That Changed Everything
This is where the entire narrative shifted in Paddy Pimblett’s favour. In January, Pimblett fought Justin Gaethje in a bout that went the full five rounds before the judges gave it to Gaethje by decision.
Paddy Pimblett absorbed everything Gaethje had, kept coming forward, got dropped many times but made it to the final bell. Then Gaethje uncrowned Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250, spent four rounds systematically breaking him down, swelling both eyes shut, fracturing two orbital bones and his nose, until Topuria’s corner made the decision to stop it before the fifth round started. ‘El Matador’ never heard the bell for round five. Pimblett heard every single one of them.
That contrast is not lost on anyone, and ‘The Baddy’ has made absolutely sure of it publicly at every opportunity. His position is simple, and he has stated it repeatedly. He went the distance with the man who ended Topuria before the fifth round. Whether you agree with the implication or not, the argument exists, and it has given this rivalry a competitive dimension it never had before.
Years of Bad Blood Between Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett That Make This Personal
The hatred between these two is not manufactured for promotional purposes. It goes back years and has produced some of the most genuinely hostile exchanges the sport has seen outside of contract negotiations. The physical altercation at a hotel when Ilia Topuria took a swipe at Paddy Pimblett is the most famous flashpoint, with Pimblett responding by throwing a bottle of hand sanitizer, which he later auctioned off for charity.
He signed it first and described exactly what Topuria’s hair gel smelled like on the bottle before putting it on the market. That is the level of detail this beef operates at.
Topuria spent the early part of his rise mocking Pimblett’s losses and questioning his credentials. Pimblett spent the back end of 2026 returning every comment with interest, consistently calling Topuria a quitter and framing the Gaethje corner stoppage as a character revelation rather than a tactical decision.
The two were briefly linked to a title fight that never got made, which only added fuel to the frustration on both sides and intensified fan demand for a resolution.
Why the Stool Purchase Is Genius by Paddy Pimblett
Spending $13,700 on a piece of corner furniture is objectively ridiculous. It is also one of the most effective pieces of psychological warfare a fighter has ever conducted outside the octagon. Pimblett now owns a physical object that represents Topuria’s worst night in professional MMA. It sits somewhere in Liverpool as a permanent reminder that the fight Topuria wanted to avoid happened to him before Pimblett ever got the chance.
Every time Topuria recovers from his orbital fractures, starts training again, and thinks about his comeback, this purchase will be sitting in the news cycle reminding everyone of the contrast between the two men’s experiences against the same opponent.
Pimblett is fresh off the biggest win of his career, riding the wave of Topuria’s vulnerability being exposed, and actively conducting a trolling campaign sophisticated enough to belong in a marketing textbook. Topuria is six months away from being able to compete again due to his medical suspension and will need to rebuild after his first professional loss.
When he comes back, no fight in the lightweight division carries more genuine animosity, more existing history, or more organic fan demand than this one. The rankings support it. The bad blood demands it. The stool in Paddy Pimblett’s living room is practically begging for it.
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