Paddy Pimblett forced to explain comment which sparked bitter Ilia Topuria rivalry

Paddy Pimblett has insisted he didn't mean to upset his UFC rival Ilia Topuria during a heated exchange which ignited their ongoing feud.

The pair, who have been at loggerheads for the past three years, were initially not seen as direct competitors due to fighting in different weight classes. However, it seems a showdown in the cage could be on the horizon.

The bad blood started when Pimblett fired off a contentious tweet aimed at Guram Kutateladze, a Georgian fighter and friend of Topuria's. Recounting the incident on his podcast, Pimblett said: "The other Georgian fighter, Guram, tweeted at me saying something, and I tweeted back something like, 'Oh, shut up you fake Russian'"

READ MORE: Fans immediately respond to Donald Trump's bold UFC event plans

READ MORE: Paddy Pimblett pays touching tribute to Diogo Jota after Liverpool star's tragic death

This comment didn't go down well with Kutateladze and his crew, leaving Pimblett bemused. "They all took offence of it, and I'm there sitting at the house, 'Why did they all took offence to it?'," he said. "Obviously, when you say something, and you offend someone you're going to say something else along the lines. They started tweeting me, so I said something like, 'No wonder why the Russians terrorised you,' and then I went to bed and woke up the next morning and I had the craziest amount of hate mail."

Months before Pimblett and Topuria's altercation at a London fighter hotel, Pimblett stirred controversy with a social media post: "Lad how stupid are these Georgians man! No wonder the Russians terrorise their lives.", reports All Out Fighting. Despite the backlash, Pimblett maintains his comments were not politically charged, though many Georgian fighters felt differently due to the sensitive history of the Russo-Georgian War.

"They all said I was talking about the war, and I was like, 'What war?' I only had found out the next day that Russia had been at war with Georgia," he explained. "I didn't know that at the time. My Twitter blew up, 'I'm like, what's going on here? What's happening?'".

"People are saying that I'm saying stuff about war. It had nothing to do with war. I just said a word. Back in Liverpool, if you say something like 'terrorise' it is like you're being bullied. That's just something we say. He still says it to this day, and he said it on (Joe) Rogan (Podcast), that I was happy that Russia dropped bombs on Georgian kids. I never said that. I don't know how he's made that up in his own mind, but that's what he says."

Following the negative reaction, Pimblett did issue an apology for his remarks online. The feud between Pimblett and Topuria has persisted, with last month seeing Pimblett shoved by the new UFC lightweight champion Topuria after confronting him in the octagon.

Topuria was crowned the new lightweight champion after a first-round knockout of Charles Oliveira at UFC 318. The newly minted champ wasted no time in calling out Pimblett. In response to Topuria, Pimblett said: "Well done, lad, well done, that was a heavy knockout. I give you that, respect, but you will never knock me out."

Topuria fired back by labelling the Brit a "coward," as Pimblett insisted he wouldn't suffer the same fate as Oliveira. "Watch what is going to happen with you," Topuria shot back. "I'm going to take your head off. I'm going to submit you, you little coward. I'm going to humiliate you, you wimp." The confrontation eventually came to an end when Topuria pushed Pimblett aside.