Paddy Pimblett and Ilia Topuria have another chapter in a rivalry that started long before either man was tied to the UFC White House card. Pimblett says he bought the red corner stool Topuria used that night for $13,700, turning a piece of fight-night equipment into a public reminder of Topuria’s loss to Justin Gaethje.
Pimblett revealed the buy on Instagram on Monday, July 20, 2026.
Collector’s item 😁
Here is Pimblett’s post:
The item matters because of the night attached to it. Topuria lost his lightweight title fight to Gaethje at UFC White House on June 14, 2026, when his corner stopped the bout after the fourth round. Sherdog lists the result as a fourth-round TKO by corner stoppage at the 5:00 mark, with Marc Goddard as referee.
Pimblett Ties The Stool Buy To Topuria’s Gaethje Loss
The history between Pimblett and Topuria goes back to UFC London fight week in March 2022, when footage showed Topuria approaching Pimblett at a fighter hotel before punches were thrown and Pimblett launched a bottle of hand sanitizer during the exchange. The matchup never came together, but the hostility followed both men into later lightweight talk.
Gaethje is the connection point in this latest jab. Pimblett lost a decision to Gaethje in January, then watched Topuria’s corner stop the fight against the same opponent at the White House card. Pimblett has already leaned into that comparison, and Gaethje later shut down talk of running it back with Pimblett after the Liverpool lightweight rebounded at UFC 329.
Pimblett’s rebound changed the tone around him. He submitted Benoit Saint Denis in 52 seconds at UFC 329, with UFC Stats listing the method as a first-round submission. It was the biggest win of his UFC run and put him back into the same wider lightweight conversation that includes Gaethje, Topuria, Arman Tsarukyan, Charles Oliveira, and Max Holloway.
Topuria has been quieter since the Gaethje loss than he was during his title rise. A Championship Rounds post showed him celebrating Spain’s World Cup victory, but Pimblett’s stool post pushed the conversation back toward the Octagon and the corner stoppage.
Ilia Topuria celebrating Spain’s World Cup victory yesterday 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/CdFmK3plQC
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 20, 2026
UFC memorabilia normally sells around gloves, shorts, posters, belts, or signed event pieces. This stool is different because the buyer is one of Topuria’s longest-running rivals and the object is tied to Topuria’s first professional MMA loss.
UFC CEO Dana White recently said Pimblett felt like a world champion after the Saint Denis win, which explains why Pimblett is talking with more leverage than he had earlier this year. He is not champion, and Topuria has not been written out of the title picture, but the rivalry now has a physical prop attached to it.
Pimblett buying the stool does not move him ahead in the rankings by itself. It does keep Pimblett vs. Topuria visible while Topuria’s Gaethje loss is still being discussed outside MMA. If the UFC revisits the matchup, the first press-conference talking point is already waiting in Liverpool.
