Paddy Pimblett has built plenty of real tension during his UFC rise, but he says he has no interest in manufacturing insults simply to sell a fight. The Liverpool lightweight made that point while discussing Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev’s much-scrutinized feud, saying he could not pretend to dislike somebody for promotional value.

Speaking with Travis Kelce on Green Light, Pimblett said he finds Strickland entertaining, while drawing a line between honest friction and rehearsed hostility. He said:

“Sean Strickland I think he’s hilarious. But him and the Khamzat thing. I think they said after they was just saying it to build the fight up. I’m not really into that. I’m not going to start saying stuff about someone if it’s just fake. I just can’t do that.”

Paddy Pimblett Tells Travis Kelce He Will Not Create “Fake Beef” Like Sean Strickland vs. Khamzat Chimaev

It is a notable stance from a fighter who has never tried to come across as neutral. Pimblett can talk. He has traded shots with rivals, leaned into crowd reactions and turned press-conference exchanges into headlines. Yet his comments suggest there is a personal distinction in his mind: if he has a problem with an opponent, he will say it. If he does not, he is not planning to invent one for cameras.

Image: @UFCEurope/Instagram

The discussion follows one of the more divisive promotional cycles in recent UFC memory. Strickland and Chimaev exchanged insults for months before their UFC 328 middleweight title fight in Newark on May 9, 2026. Their verbal exchanges touched on religion, family and personal history, while a pre-fight incident in which Chimaev kicked Strickland in the shin required security intervention. The UFC reportedly separated the two in different hotels and increased security precautions during fight week.

Image: @ufc/Instagram

When the fight was over, the temperature dropped quickly. Strickland won a split decision, with two judges scoring the contest 48-47 for him and the third scoring it 48-47 for Chimaev. The pair embraced inside the Octagon afterward, and Strickland later gave Chimaev credit as a fighter. He said the back-and-forth had helped sell the contest.

That reversal did not go down cleanly with everyone. Nate Diaz described the confrontation as “faking the funk” and criticized the fighters for escalating the hostility before embracing after the fight. He said he would not be comfortable misleading fans with a staged rivalry.

Ariel Helwani also objected to the suggestion that the feud could be waved away as routine promotion after some of the remarks made during the build. Strickland later responded by saying the animosity had been real at the time, that both men said things they should not have said, and that fighting each other produced mutual respect.

That is the backdrop for Pimblett’s view. He was not necessarily claiming that every difficult Strickland-Chimaev moment was scripted. His point was simpler as if people involved have admitted that parts of a feud were designed to sell tickets, that is not a method he wants to copy.

Paddy Pimblett’s Trash Talk

Pimblett’s record as a promoter is not based on avoiding confrontation. His feud with Ilia Topuria has remained one of the UFC’s most personal lightweight rivalries, with years of exchanges across social media, media events and fight-week encounters.

The dispute began after Pimblett’s social-media comments about Georgia drew anger from Topuria, who grew up in the country and has spoken about the human impact of the Russia-Georgia war. Topuria said the remarks had made his “blood boil,” while Pimblett has maintained that he did not intend the comments in the way they were received.

Image: UFC.com

They eventually confronted each other during UFC London fight week in 2022, in an altercation that featured thrown objects before the two men became physical and were pulled apart. The rivalry continued later that year at the UFC 282 press conference, when security stepped in after another heated exchange.

Pimblett has also shown he is willing to put limits on the conversation. In December 2025, while saying he still disliked Topuria, he said he would never speak about a rival’s family and that family should be left outside the fight.

His UFC 314 meeting with Michael Chandler is probably the clearest example of the approach Pimblett described. The two promoted their April 2025 fight in Miami with some playful barbs, including Pimblett’s criticism of Chandler’s tactics, but neither man tried to sell it as a personal grudge.

The same pattern appeared around Pimblett’s bout with Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 329. Instead of trying to hijack fight week with manufactured animosity, Pimblett and Saint Denis kept their interactions relatively civil at the pre-fight press conference. Their faceoff did not produce the type of volatile scene that surrounded other matchups on the card.

MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 12: Paddy Pimblett of England punches Michael Chandler in a lightweight bout during the UFC 314 event at Kaseya Center on April 12, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Pimblett has never been a quiet figure in MMA. He is animated, comfortable with a microphone and more than willing to answer a critic. He has history with Topuria, and there will be no surprise if that rivalry produces more sharp exchanges before they eventually fight. But he says his fans will be getting the real version of him, whether that means genuine dislike or genuine respect.