With his first title defense against Hawaiian juggernaut Max Holloway, UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria once again proved his critics wrong on the ‘deserts’ of Abu Dhabi. Not only did he defeat Holloway, but he also knocked him out, marking the first time ‘Blessed’ has been stopped in his UFC career. However, this win has attracted unwanted attention from rivals in his division, as well as from others, such as Brit lightweight contender Paddy Pimblett, who has a history of bad blood with Topuria. This feud dates back to 2022 and nearly escalated into a significant brawl.

Even after all this time, the heat of their vendetta is still alive. That’s why, as soon as Topuria knocked out Max Holloway, Pimblett issued a challenge, stating, “I can’t wait for him to come back up to lightweight; I still think I’d beat him.” Topuria has yet to respond to this challenge.

Instead, his friend and UFC lightweight contender Guram Kutateladze (13-4-0) jumped in to accept the fight against Paddy Pimblett. He recently issued a warning on X, writing, “@PaddyTheBaddy I saw that you are waiting for @TopuriaIlia to come up to lightweight and fight him. That sounds unreal. Let’s talk about reality. We have unfinished business; I’m in the lightweight division, and I’m eager to fight you. You don’t need any more reasons, and you don’t have to wait. @ufc put this guy in the cage with me.”

Now that the ball is in Dana White and the company’s court, it will be intriguing to observe how they react to this unplanned call-out, especially since Kutateladze has yet to break into the top 15 rankings, currently sitting at 2-2 in the UFC. However, he might not be worried about himself but rather concerned for his friend Ilia Topuria, for whom he recently made a big prediction.

Guram Kutateladze’s shocking revelation about Ilia Topuria

Since the announcement of the UFC 308 main event in Abu Dhabi featuring the featherweight title bout between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway, the odds seemed to weigh in favor of Topuria. However, until the conclusion of the main event, uncertainty about the fight’s result lingered in the fight community. One of the individuals who was confident about Topuria’s win was his friend and training partner, UFC lightweight contender Guram Kutateladze.

‘Georgian Viking’ had been supporting Topuria long before the fight, as he expressed in the UFC 308 fight promotion’s YouTube video. Kutateladze explained, “Ilia is very talented. It’s not only the talent; he’s developing all the time. His grappling, his boxing—there’s nobody right now, especially in his weight class, who can match him. He’s feeling good, strong, fast, and explosive. All the respect to Max, you know, but Ilia is here to be a champion, to be a BMF. Now it’s his time.”

What are your thoughts on Guram Kutateladze’s challenge to Paddy Pimblett? Do you believe Dana White will pair the undefeated Pimblett with an opponent outside the rankings? Drop your opinion below.