UFC star Paddy 'The Baddy' Pimblett on why 'little fart box' Ilia Topuria is avoiding him, how his twin girls have added motivation and  Liverpool prediction this season

The days and weeks have rolled by with Paddy Pimblett waiting for a phone call this summer. 

His statement battering of Michael Chandler back in April cemented 'The Baddy' as one of the UFC's biggest stars but he's not been able to make hay while the sun shines. 

There was talk of packing out the Bernabeu for what he describes as the biggest fight his employers could make against Spanish sensation Ilia Topuria.

And when UFC White House went from far-fetched fantasy to reality, suddenly a scrap at Real Madrid's 84,000-capacity home didn't seem that outlandish. 

But Pimblett is still waiting for that call to fight Topuria, or anyone. 

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Sport in his role as Dr Squatch’s new Ambassador for their Manlandia campaign, the 30-year-old said: 'Ilia is stalling so we'll just see what happens over the next few months but he's sitting and waiting, he doesn't want to say "yes" to a fight after he's said all sorts of things about me. You think he'd just take the fight don't you but he's being a little fart box.'

That 'little fart box' is undefeated, just picked off Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira and has a feud with Pimblett stemming from a hotel row back in 2022. 

Pimblett launched a hand sanitiser at Topuria, who had approached him aggressively with his team at the Hilton in Canary Wharf. He still has that bottle as a souvenir with 'Hand Sanitiser Boy' written on it but it's yet to be relaunched in the lightweight champion's direction. 

'If I see him in the supermarket, I smash him right there', Topuria previously threatened. 'His fight (with Tony Ferguson) was embarrassing... The level he showed in that fight, that's embarrassing. He looked like a beginner.'

Pimblett knows the UFC should strike while the iron is hot and the bad blood even hotter, adding: 'It is the biggest the UFC can make right now, there's no bigger fight that they can make, literally, since Jon Jones retired and you can't do Jones vs Tom Aspinall, the biggest fight the UFC can make is me vs Ilia. 

'It's all Ilia, we're waiting on Ilia. I think if he'd have said he'd fight me then we'd have it signed by now but he hasn't. He talks a big game but won't back it up. Something that I love doing is proving idiots wrong so when I do that it makes me feel good.

'I'm just waiting, you don't really hear from the UFC, they just tell you. I'm waiting on a phone call that's just the way it is. We'd easily pack out the Bernabeu but it's probably not going to happen is it?'

A fight between Pimblett and Max Holloway was recently suggested by Dustin Poirier, which 'The Baddy' is also up for, confirming: 'Yeah, I'll fight anyone that gets me closer to the belt. I don't care who I fight as long as I fight for the belt next. That's why I want to fight Ilia, as much as I hate him, I want to fight him even more because he's got the belt.'

While the inactivity has been a frustration, Pimblett has slipped comfortably into dad-mode this summer, jetting to Monaco, the US and Turkey. 

He has one-and-a-half-year-old twin girls, Betsy and Margot, with wife Laura and they're the apples of his eye. 

He beams, saying: 'The girls are boss, just running around everywhere now, you don't get a minute. It hasn't been too bad with the tantrum phase but I'm sure it's coming. They love each other to be honest with you which is a good thing. Summer has been sound.

Juggling parenthood with a normal job can be tricky for anyone, let alone one as demanding on time, emotional energy and physical pain as professional MMA at the very top level.   

'You just have to get on with it, simple as that, I can't do anything else but get on with it, that's the way it is, there's no beating around the bush, you've got to crack on and keep doing what you're doing,' Pimblett explains. 'I can't let the fact I've got kids get in the way. 

'My wife does everything, I'm lucky to have her, she does everything and is a great mum. I don't have to worry about the kids especially when I go into fight camp she looks after a lot of things, doesn't bother me with stuff because she knows I've got to do s***. 

'(Having the twins) definitely adds motivation because I want to succeed for them, it gives you a newfound sense of wanting to do it for someone else. 

'I've always just done it for myself basically. I've still done it to put food on the table but obviously it's different when you've got kids and want to provide for them.

'I'm still in the gym every day, constantly improving and getting better. I always say if you're not getting better you'll get left behind in our sport. 

'It's immature compared to other sports so if you don't keep training and working on what you need to work on, you're going to get left behind.'

Outside of the cage, there's no danger of Pimblett being left behind either.  

His UFC stardom has made him hot property and he recently starred in an advert for Dr Squatch's Manladia campaign, extending the advocacy for men's mental health he's extolled many times on the mic in the octagon. 

'Men need to feel free to be whoever they want to be, they put too much pressure on themselves and we need to get away from that,' he says. 

That message rings especially true after the tragic loss of boxing legend Ricky Hatton, who was found dead at his home aged 46 last month and his passing sent shockwaves through the sporting world, particularly the combat sphere. It was not treated as suspicious by police and the cause of death has not been released.

Pimblett used to cross paths with Hatton on holiday and reflected: 'When I found out about that I was in shock. I bumped into Ricky every now and again when I was out in Tenerife and he is one of the nicest fellas you've ever met. 

'He was always a cool dude, never thought he was better than other people because of who he was, he was always a nice guy. 

'To hear about his passing and also the fact that he was a big advocate for men's mental health just shows that it can happen to anyone because he's probably got enough money and enough supporters to get him through things. If he can't get through it what chance does a normal bloke have?'

Hatton was adored by the combat sports fraternity and regarded as the ultimate man of the people, always down to earth and never forgetting where he came from. 

It's a trait shared by Pimblett who represents his beloved city of Liverpool on the global stage, shouldering more of the responsibility now that his close friend Molly McCann has retired from MMA. 

Pimblett is also regularly seen at Liverpool games, so what does he make of the Reds' campaign so far, which has been shaken by three consecutive defeats heading into the international break.

'It's been a weird one', he reflects. 'I watched the Palace game with a mate who's an Everton fan and obviously he was celebrating, it always shows how good you are when rival teams are celebrating. 

'We're not playing our best at the minute. People are going on about Florian Wirtz but he's got to be given time in a new league a new country and to be honest I don't think he's looked that bad, he's had a few performances where he looks good, providing chances but he gets singled out because of the price paid for him.'

The huge momentum swing has seen Arsenal installed as favourites to rip the title from the Reds' grasp this season but Pimblett isn't pushing the panic button yet, adding: 'I trust in Arne Slot, I don't care what anyone says. I think we will win it again.'

Whether silverware on Merseyside would be coupled with a gleaming UFC belt  paraded at Anfield will surely be answered in the months ahead, if that phone ever rings. 

Paddy Pimblett was speaking in his role as ambassador for Dr Squatch and the new Manladia campaign