Ilia Topuria doesn't expect tensions to have eased if he collides with lightweight prospect Paddy Pimblett again in London this week.
While they both have opponents of their own to focus on for this weekend, Kazula Vargas for the Englishman and Jai Herbert for the Georgian, Pimblett and Topuria have formed a more intense feud between themselves.
They'd previously clashed online following distasteful tweets "The Baddy" posted about the Russo-Georgian War. But the animosity between the pair reached a boiling point at the fighter hotel on Tuesday.
After Topuria approached Pimbett, objects and insults were exchanged, with the ranked UFC featherweight seemingly landing a punch to the Liverpudlian's arm.
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At media day, Pimblett gave his side of the story, accusing "El Matador," who he branded "hand sanitizer boy," of trying to "act hard" and doing "nothing" despite a clear number advantage.
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"He saw me and he was like, smiling at me, and he wanted me to shake his hand. I don't know what he wanted for my part," recalled Topuria. "And (when) I saw him, I threw a bottle to his face and then everything started. But he was quiet like a bitch. He didn't say anything. Fuck him. He's just a man on Twitter. This is not Twitter. This is real life. If you wanna play a gangster, be a gangster by the end. If not, just stay quiet, kid."
When asked what would happen if he comes across Pimblett again prior to Saturday's fight night, Topuria revealed he's expecting a similar situation. However, if he were to find himself alone with "The Baddy," he expects things to end very differently for the Brit.
"The same thing you saw in the video (will happen if I see him again). If I have the chance, I don't know, if they give me the chance to be with him alone in a room, I'm gonna kill this motherfucker," asserted Topuria.
Topuria: Pimblett Should Be Thankful After Hotel Clash
Ultimately, while footage of the incident has gone viral, the pair avoided a full-blown brawl, with members of Topuria's entourage quickly separating their man from his fellow main-card competitor.
When recalling the incident, Pimblett suggested he escaped a six-on-one clash unscathed. But further into his conversation with Helwani, Topuria noted that the members of his team mostly played peacekeeping roles.
He believes Pimblett should be thankful for that, because if they didn't, he would've ended up in hospital.
"He saw me and he shit on his pants... I was trying to take his head off. He (posted) something like, 'It was six versus me.' You can see in the video, my coach was on his back making a coffee," said Topuria. "(He was) calm. He didn't even move.
"No one touched him. My brother was separating me. Can you imagine if everyone go against him? He was alone. We will kill him," added Topuria. "He should be thankful (to) all my teammates because they separated me. If not, he will be, I don't know, in the hospital right now."
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What did you make of Ilia Topuria and Paddy Pimblett's hotel altercation?