Paddy Pimblett Picture Credit: Twitter
The Liverpool-born UFC Featherweight fighter Paddy Pimblett registered a clinical win over the Monkey King Jordan Leavitt as he continued his winning streak. The Baddy relied on his old faithful rear naked choke to register a second win via submission.
But after the fight, Paddy Pimblett took a moment to address the importance of men’s mental health. The 27-year-old opened up about how five hours before the weigh-ins on Friday, he got the news that his friend committed suicide.
“I had some horrible news the other day,” Paddy Pimblett said. “Five hours before weigh-in, I woke up and found out one of my mates had killed himself. It’s been a hard week, to be honest. It’s been a really hard week – not just with the fight and the weight cut. I’ve had so many other things.”
“I just wish lads would talk more,” Paddy Pimblett continued. “You know, women speak to each other all the time if you’ve got something. Lads don’t. They sit there and bottle it up, and they end up taking their own lives, and that’s something you can’t take back. Men just need to talk more. They just need to get it off their chest.”
Paddy Pimblett feels that these circumstances affected his performance. But even on this bad day, he thinks he has proven he is still a dominant force in the division. “Obviously, I know how good I am and on any given day".
“I can beat anyone – anyone in the rankings. It doesn’t matter. I can beat anyone, even on a bad day like today, I still done it. I still got in there and dominated him. Well, I didn’t dominate him at the start, but still think I won the first round, and then I got the finish in the second”, said Paddy Pimblett.