Paddy Pimblett mocks Ilia Topuria on Joe Rogan's MMA show as both men eye April

Paddy Pimblett went after Ilia Topuria on Joe Rogan's JRE MMA Show #188, released on Wednesday, November 11. He mocked Topuria's national identity and claimed his support in Spain is fading. No fight between the two is booked.

What Pimblett said

The main jab was about where Topuria calls home. He was born in Germany to Georgian parents and moved to Spain at 15, according to LowKick MMA. Pimblett's line, as Sherdog reported it on Thursday:

"Is he Georgian, is he Spanish, is he German? You pick one, lad. You can't be all three."

"Stop trying to get a fanbase from three different countries," he added. He then said he'd "heard" that Spain had turned on Topuria, with "little ruffles" before the loss to Justin Gaethje and worse since. We found no report backing that up.

"It'll be heavy if I fight him and he loses again then. He won't have any fans left," he said. He gave Topuria credit for rising fast, but said it wouldn't have happened "if he didn't use my name for clout," according to LowKick MMA. Rogan pushed back: "that's where we disagree," per the episode summary.

According to that summary, Pimblett said he respects Topuria as a fighter but not as a person. He wants the fight in April, with Miami his first choice and Brooklyn's Barclays Center the backup. He also floated a season of The Ultimate Fighter with Topuria.

Where things stand

Topuria has his own plans for April. He previewed an interview with Spanish newspaper ABC on Thursday, November 5. "From April onward is when we are considering returning," he said, in NY Fights' translation. In the same interview he said of Pimblett: "I'll eat him like a sausage, which he is."

On the TUF idea, he told One on One MMA there was "nothing official" and he hadn't spoken to the UFC, per MMA Sucka. "But yeah, it's something that could happen. Why not?" he said. In that interview he said he'd start training in January for a return between April and June.

Dana White has said the UFC is working on Topuria's comeback but hasn't named an opponent. As of Thursday, we found no response from Topuria to the podcast. On the show, Pimblett said he's in Thailand until late January and will start camp around January 24.

The history and the records

The feud dates to March 2022, when Topuria confronted Pimblett at the fighter hotel before UFC London over Pimblett's tweets about Georgia. Pimblett later apologised for the tweets. He threw a bottle of hand sanitiser at Topuria, "in defence" according to The Independent. On the show, Pimblett said Topuria swung first and missed.

They faced off in the cage after Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 in June 2025, but they've never fought.

Topuria is 17-1. He took the featherweight title from Alexander Volkanovski, then won the vacant lightweight belt by knocking out Oliveira. His only loss came on June 14, 2026, at UFC Freedom 250. He didn't come out for the fifth round against Gaethje, per UFC.com. He closed as a -478 favourite (79%) that night.

Pimblett is 24-4. He lost a decision to Gaethje for the interim title at UFC 324 in January as a -244 favourite. In July he choked out Benoit Saint Denis with a d'Arce in 52 seconds at UFC 329, per Cageside Press. He closed as a +110 underdog.

Their betting records look almost identical. Each is 8-1 in UFC fights with odds, and both lost only to Gaethje as clear favourites. A flat stake on Topuria in his nine priced UFC fights would be up 2.85 units, and on Pimblett 3.37 units. That's past performance. There are no odds on a fight that hasn't been made.

Gaethje has no title defence booked and has talked about retiring since June. Arman Tsarukyan says he's been told to expect news at the end of November, according to Sherdog. We think Gaethje's choice will decide Topuria's next fight. If he fights Tsarukyan, Pimblett is the obvious April opponent. If he retires, Topuria vs. Tsarukyan for the vacant belt makes more sense.