Rival says he'd 'smash' lightweight champion Ilia Topuria's face in

Former featherweight champion Ilia Topuria relinquished the 145-pound title and moved up to the lightweight division to compete for the undisputed 155-pound crown against former champion Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 last June. 

He knocked out "do Bronxs" in the first round to capture the lightweight title. Who "El Matador" will face in his first title defense remains unclear, but rival and No. 6 ranked contender Paddy Pimblett wants to be the challenger. 

It's no secret that Pimblett and Topuria don't like each other. The feud between the two dates back years. It began from online comments by Pimblett about Topuria's countrymen. That led to a physical altercation at the fighter hotel in London during UFC Fight Night 204 fight week in March 2022. The two nearly came to blows at the UFC 282 Press Conference later that year.

If a fight between the two gets booked, Pimblett believes he has the tools to defeat the champion anywhere the fight goes. 

"I'll absolutely smash his face in for him. I can see me beating him anywhere the fight goes, to be honest," Pimblett told James Sweetnam.

Topuria's rise has been nothing short of spectacular. To win the featherweight title, he knocked out longtime titleholder Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. He defended the belt against Max Holloway at UFC 208 and became the first fighter to KO the Hawaiian. To win the lightweight championship, he knocked out Oliveira. It's one of the greatest three-fight title fight runs in the promotion's history. 

With the knockout streak over legends, Topuria climbed to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, but Pimblett plans to knock the Georgian down a few notches.  

"People have put him on a pedestal now. They think he's this big, amazing thing. I'll bring him back down to Earth in a big way," Pimblett said.