Paddy Pimblett sent social media into a frenzy this week after claiming he had purchased the red UFC stool worth $13,700 that Ilia Topuria used during his lightweight title fight at UFC Freedom 250. Sharing an image of him with the red stool online, he proudly referred to it as a “collector’s item.” However, it seems like the victory lap may have been a bit premature.

A woman has now publicly contradicted Pimblett’s claim, stating that he never actually purchased the red corner stool in the first place. A buyer, named Jessica, claims that it was she, not Pimblett, who was the winning bidder in the UFC Collectibles auction. In fact, she even backed her story by opening the UFC Collectibles website and showing the official purchase receipt, setting the stage for an unexpected dispute over one of the night’s most unusual pieces of memorabilia.

“Hi, I am Jessica,” she said in the video she shared online. “I am actually the one that purchased the Ilia red stool from Freedom 250. You can see the collectibles email that it’s been shipped.”

To back up her claim, Jessica showed what seemed to be her purchase confirmation email before opening the Shop app to show fight fans the shipment details. She also showed the receipt, which identified the item as the “UFC Freedom 250 Ilia Topuria-Gaethje used event stool corner” at a purchase price of $18,272.

Even though she avoided scrolling further down the site to avoid revealing her personal information, the evidence presented so far in the video was enough for Jessica to actually refute Paddy Pimblett’s social media post.

“It was me. I bought it, not Paddy, not anybody else,” she added.

But why exactly did she buy the stool in the first place, you ask? Well, Jessica also explained there was a specific reason she wanted the stool.

“Big Ilia fan,” she stated in the video. “And I kind of purchased it on purpose so that Paddy and nobody else could actually buy it and use it against him. But here we are.”

And to add to her credibility, she is a well-known UFC fan who is known for attending multiple UFC shows and getting the best seats possible, including cageside seats. In fact, the UFC even used her photo for the UFC 330 VIP experience promotion on their website.

Regardless, the stool is especially significant because of what happened at UFC Freedom 250. ‘El Matador’ entered the White House event as the undisputed lightweight champion and a clear favorite over interim titleholder Justin Gaethje.

However, after taking significant punishment from Gaethje in the third and fourth rounds, Ilia Topuria’s corner stopped the fight between rounds, handing Gaethje the title win by fourth-round corner retirement. Since then, Paddy ‘The Baddy’ has repeatedly insulted his old rival for the outcome, mocking Topuria for quitting on the stool. At the time of writing, Paddy Pimblett has not publicly responded to Jessica’s claims or the documentation she shared online.

The latest exchange comes as Paddy Pimblett continues riding the momentum of the biggest victory of his career after submitting Benoit Saint Denis in under a minute at UFC 329. Ilia Topuria, meanwhile, has mainly avoided the spotlight since losing his lightweight title last month.

But whenever he returns, he has confirmed recently that the rivalry is unlikely to ever be settled inside the Octagon.

Ilia Topuria claims a Paddy Pimblett fight is impossible

The blood feud between the two was sparked by Pimblett’s comments about the former champ’s home country of Georgia back in 2021. Things only got worse later on when the Brit threw a bottle of hand sanitizer at Ilia Topuria during a run-in at a fighter hotel in London the following year.

However, despite years of animosity between the two, Ilia Topuria recently stated that the feud is unlikely to ever be resolved inside the Octagon. On The Ariel Helwani Show, the former lightweight champion admitted he expected ‘The Baddy’ to defeat Justin Gaethje earlier this year and eventually face him. Instead, the Spanish-Georgian came away unimpressed by what he saw.

“I was a little surprised of how bad Paddy really is,” Topuria told Ariel Helwani. “I was expecting him to win, be honest. I was expecting him to take Justin down, to, I don’t know, do a different fight. Like to really fight.

“But what he did inside the Octagon in that fight, it surprised me a little bit. He really proved that he’s a little sausage.”

Ilia Topuria believes Paddy Pimblett’s loss has moved him too far away from title contention to ever be a viable opponent again. When asked if the Englishman could make his way back into the championship picture, the former champion laughed it off.

“Rebound from what?” he continued. “From a loss? Of course, but how he’s going to gain the skills, the technique in the sport?

“Like, that’s basically impossible. He needs to die and be born again.”

‘El Matador’ then delivered one final parting shot at the man he’s feuded with since their infamous hotel confrontation.

“Now he’s too far [from the top fighters in the division],” he added. “We don’t see Paddy in the horizon. We don’t see him anymore. Bye, Paddy. I didn’t even have to go inside the Octagon to beat him. So that feels even a little bit better, to be honest.”

However, at the time he said this, Topuria was still the lightweight champion and had yet to suffer a defeat. But since his loss, there’s a chance that even the UFC might now be open to considering making the fight between the two rivals.

Now, it is unclear whether Paddy Pimblett will ever respond to Jessica’s video. But one thing is certain: the rivalry between ‘The Baddy’ and ‘El Matador’ continues to make headlines, even when neither man is entering the cage.