Ilia Topuria just made history, knocking out Charles Oliveira to claim the UFC lightweight title at UFC 317 on June 29, 2025, in Las Vegas. But the night’s big moment came when Paddy Pimblett hopped into the octagon for a tense faceoff with Topuria, hyping a potential Santiago Bernabeu Stadium fight. UFC president Dana White was not pleased. At the post-fight press conference, he said:
“I don’t know who the hell let him in there. That should have never happened. Let’s start there. I was already back in my room or that would have never happened.”
White was especially upset about the timing.
“My thing with Topuria, his wife and kid are in the octagon,” he said. “That’s not the fight. It shouldn’t have happened. That’s not really what we do.” He added, “I don’t give a shit if it was fun to watch or not. That shouldn’t happen. Plus [Topuria] wins a second title in a higher division, it was a bad call by whoever the hell let him in there.”
Dana White doesn’t approve of Paddy Pimblett facing off with Ilia Topuria 😭
“I don’t know who the hell let [Paddy] in there. That should’ve never happened.”
🎥 @ufc #UFC317pic.twitter.com/A0Og12BaHx
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 29, 2025
White’s Frustration and Topuria’s Defiance
Topuria, now a two-division champ, called out Pimblett for a massive Spain fight after his knockout win. The unscripted faceoff happened because White was out of the arena, and security didn’t stop Pimblett. Topuria leaned into the moment, saying:
“Someone told me Dana was a little bit angry about that [faceoff]. But [Dana] wasn’t there [to stop it]. So that [fight] has to happen.” White stayed cautious, saying, “We’ll see. We’ll see how this plays out.”
Topuria’s win over Oliveira at T-Mobile Arena made him the second UFC fighter to hold featherweight and lightweight titles. The faceoff overshadowed his moment, which clearly frustrated White, who wanted the focus on Topuria’s achievement.
Topuria, 17-0, born in Georgia and raised in Spain, joined the UFC in 2020. He knocked out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 in February 2024 to win the featherweight title, defended it against Max Holloway at UFC 308 in October 2024, and claimed the lightweight belt against Oliveira. A Real Madrid fan, he did the ceremonial kickoff at Bernabeu in February 2024, backed by Sergio Ramos.
Pimblett, 23-3, is on a nine-fight win streak, capped by a TKO over Michael Chandler at UFC 314 on April 12, 2025, with leg kicks and a knee for a third-round stoppage. Dana White called him “the real deal,”. Their feud ignited at UFC London in 2022, when Pimblett threw a hand sanitizer bottle at Topuria after a heated exchange, nearly sparking a brawl. Topuria later claimed on Joe Rogan’s podcast that Pimblett mocked Georgia’s war history, which Pimblett denied.
Topuria’s ready for December 2025, and Pimblett’s eager to settle the score. White’s annoyance shows the UFC’s careful approach, but the Topuria-Pimblett heat is real.
