Paddy Pimblett was "escorted out the back door" to avoid a second altercation with UFC rival Ilia Topuria.
Pimblett has become one of the most high-profile names on the UFC roster despite having only had three fights since joining the promotion. The Liverpudlian will return to the octagon next weekend in his first appearance on a pay-per-view card when he takes on Jared Gordon at UFC 282 in Las Vegas.
In perhaps his biggest feud to date, a war of words turned physical in London e arlier this year where punches were thrown and the pair were dragged apart as the pair attempted to settle their social media beef at a hotel. Bottles were also tossed around the room with a table crashing to the ground, and security were forced to intervene to prevent the scene from descending into a mass ruckus.
And according to Topuria, Pimblett was required to be taken in the opposite direction when the pair came close to a direct meeting at the promotion's Performance Institute this week. He tweeted: "When I arrived at the PI this morning , I had to wait until they got paddy out the backdoor. I am no bully, you don’t have to avoid me.
"You already apologised. I still don’t like you. As long as you behave yourself when you see me, I won’t give a f*** about you." Pimblett had already suggested prior to the near-miss that any repeat of a hotel meeting could end up in him breaking his rival's jaw with a violent threat.
He said: "I've got myself a house. I don't need to stay in a hotel with those mushrooms, that hand sanitizer boy [Topuria] and that. If I see him lad, I'll end up snapping his chin. So I'll just stay away lad, won't get with NSAC."
Would you like to see Paddy Pimblett fight Ilia Topuria? Let us know in the comments section below
Topuria will also be in action on the UFC 282 bill when he takes on fellow contender Bryce Mitchell prior to Pimblett's latest high-profile appearance. A clash between the pair in the octagon almost seems inevitable in the future despite Pimblett currently campaigning at a weight 10lb heavier than his rival.
Pimblett was quick to address the previous incident and added a new nickname for his new foe which could stir the pot further. "Hand sanitiser boy? That's his name from now on, don't refer to him as his name," Pimblett said. "I was standing there on my own and there was about six of them, he done nothing.
"If he wanted to do something he would have come around the table and tried to have a fight with me, but he didn't because he knows what's good for him. As he got close to me, he swiped a slap at me. If you raise your hand to me, I'm gonna do something. So I bounced the hand sanitiser off his head."
