Video! Topuria, Pimblett Share Surprise Encounter

Fight fans were on the edge of their seat earlier today when Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett crossed paths during UFC London’s ceremonial weigh ins (replay HERE), but the two UFC stars surprisingly buried the hatchet with a good old fashioned handshake.

In case you forgot, Topuria and Pimblett have created quite the feud over the past few years. This includes a near-brawl at UFC London back in 2022 and another physical altercation at UFC 282’s press conference later that same year. Their bad blood hasn’t maturated into an actual fight inside of the Octagon, but the two have continued to trade barbs in the MMA media.

On Friday, Topuria and Pimblett were once again in the same place at the same time as the two fighters stepped on stage for UFC London’s weigh ins in support of their teammates. Both “El Matador” and “Baddy” are known for backing up their trash talk so fight fans were on high alert when the two men came together.

Fortunately, nothing happened. The two fighters acknowledged each other and engaged in a quick handshake to keep the festivities moving along. Check it out below:

“The fist bump heard round the world,” Pimblett wrote on social media after his handshake with Topuria.

Luckily for fight fans who want more out of this feud, Topuria just vacated his undisputed UFC featherweight title earlier this year to make an official move up to 155 pounds. Should Pimblett push his lightweight win streak to seven against Michael Chandler next month at UFC 314 then there’s a shot “Baddy” could square off with Topuria somewhere down the line.

Pimblett even mentioned a potential matchup during a media scrum later Friday. See it below:

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

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC London fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining main card balance on ESPN+ at 4 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC London news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Edwards vs. Brady” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.