Paddy Pimblett has constructed loads of actual stress throughout his UFC rise, however he says he has no real interest in manufacturing insults merely to promote a battle. The Liverpool light-weight made that time whereas discussing Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev’s much-scrutinized feud, saying he couldn’t fake to dislike any person for promotional worth.
Talking with Travis Kelce on Inexperienced Gentle, Pimblett stated he finds Strickland entertaining, whereas drawing a line between sincere friction and rehearsed hostility. He stated:
“Sean Strickland I feel he’s hilarious. However him and the Khamzat factor. I feel they stated after they was simply saying it to construct the battle up. I’m not likely into that. I’m not going to start out saying stuff about somebody if it’s simply pretend. I simply can’t do this.”
Paddy Pimblett Tells Travis Kelce He Will Not Create “Faux Beef” Like Sean Strickland vs. Khamzat Chimaev
It’s a notable stance from a fighter who has by no means tried to come back throughout as impartial. Pimblett can discuss. He has traded photographs with rivals, leaned into crowd reactions and turned press-conference exchanges into headlines. But his feedback counsel there’s a private distinction in his thoughts: if he has an issue with an opponent, he’ll say it. If he doesn’t, he’s not planning to invent one for cameras.
The dialogue follows one of many extra divisive promotional cycles in current UFC memory. Strickland and Chimaev exchanged insults for months earlier than their UFC 328 middleweight title battle in Newark on Could 9, 2026. Their verbal exchanges touched on faith, household and private historical past, whereas a pre-fight incident wherein Chimaev kicked Strickland within the shin required safety intervention. The UFC reportedly separated the 2 in numerous motels and elevated safety precautions throughout battle week.
When the battle was over, the temperature dropped shortly. Strickland gained a break up choice, with two judges scoring the competition 48-47 for him and the third scoring it 48-47 for Chimaev. The pair embraced contained in the Octagon afterward, and Strickland later gave Chimaev credit score as a fighter. He stated the back-and-forth had helped promote the competition.
That reversal didn’t go down cleanly with everybody. Nate Diaz described the confrontation as “faking the funk” and criticized the fighters for escalating the hostility earlier than embracing after the battle. He stated he wouldn’t be snug deceptive followers with a staged rivalry.
Ariel Helwani additionally objected to the suggestion that the feud might be waved away as routine promotion after a few of the remarks made through the construct. Strickland later responded by saying the animosity had been actual on the time, that each males stated issues they need to not have stated, and that combating one another produced mutual respect.
That’s the backdrop for Pimblett’s view. He was not essentially claiming that each tough Strickland-Chimaev second was scripted. His level was less complicated as if folks concerned have admitted that elements of a feud had been designed to promote tickets, that isn’t a way he desires to repeat.
Paddy Pimblett’s Trash Speak
Pimblett’s report as a promoter isn’t primarily based on avoiding confrontation. His feud with Ilia Topuria has remained one of many UFC’s most private light-weight rivalries, with years of exchanges throughout social media, media occasions and fight-week encounters.
The dispute started after Pimblett’s social-media feedback about Georgia drew anger from Topuria, who grew up within the nation and has spoken concerning the human impression of the Russia-Georgia warfare. Topuria stated the remarks had made his “blood boil,” whereas Pimblett has maintained that he didn’t intend the feedback in the best way they had been acquired.
They ultimately confronted one another throughout UFC London battle week in 2022, in an altercation that featured thrown objects earlier than the 2 males turned bodily and had been pulled aside. The rivalry continued later that 12 months on the UFC 282 press convention, when safety stepped in after one other heated alternate.
Pimblett has additionally proven he’s prepared to place limits on the dialog. In December 2025, whereas saying he nonetheless disliked Topuria, he stated he would by no means discuss a rival’s household and that household needs to be left outdoors the battle.
His UFC 314 assembly with Michael Chandler might be the clearest instance of the strategy Pimblett described. The 2 promoted their April 2025 battle in Miami with some playful barbs, together with Pimblett’s criticism of Chandler’s ways, however neither man tried to promote it as a private grudge.
The identical sample appeared round Pimblett’s bout with Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329. As an alternative of attempting to hijack battle week with manufactured animosity, Pimblett and Saint Denis stored their interactions comparatively civil on the pre-fight press convention. Their faceoff didn’t produce the kind of risky scene that surrounded different matchups on the cardboard.
Pimblett has by no means been a quiet determine in MMA. He’s animated, snug with a microphone and greater than prepared to reply a critic. He has historical past with Topuria, and there will probably be no shock if that rivalry produces extra sharp exchanges earlier than they ultimately battle. However he says his followers will probably be getting the true model of him, whether or not meaning real dislike or real respect.
