Ilia Topuria was called a 'fat featherweight' by Paddy Pimblett, who believes the former champion is fighting in the wrong weight class.
What happened?
Pimblett made these comments ahead of his UFC 329 bout against Benoit Saint Denis, stating that Topuria's loss to Gaethje proved he is not suited for lightweight.
Why it matters for Ilia Topuria
Topuria lost the UFC lightweight title to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250 last month, looking like the smaller man and getting worn down in the fight.
What comes next?
Pimblett thinks that if he ever fights Topuria, it will encourage the Georgian to move back down to featherweight, as he will realize how small he is for lightweight.
Pimblett, who is notorious for gaining weight between fights, believes Topuria is fighting at the wrong weight class.
Topuria is likely to need time off to rest and recover from the damage he absorbed in the fight against Gaethje.
Pimblett doesn't want to wait around for Topuria and thinks he will fight someone else next instead.
The Scouser stated that if he fights Topuria, people will realize that Topuria is not a lightweight.
Pimblett's comments come after Topuria's move up to lightweight last year, where he won the belt by knocking out Charles Oliveira.
But against Gaethje, Topuria looked like the much smaller man and was finished by TKO.
Pimblett's UFC 329 bout against Benoit Saint Denis is scheduled to take place next weekend.
If Pimblett gets past Saint Denis, many fans will want to see him collide with Topuria inside the cage later this year.
However, according to Pimblett, Topuria's face is 'mashed up' and he won't be fighting again anytime soon.
Pimblett would like to fight again before the end of the year, so he will likely face a different opponent next.
As Pimblett said, 'everything unfolds crazy in MMA, you don't know what's going to happen next'.