The UFC’s rising star, Paddy Pimblett, delivered yet another show-stopping performance at UFC London this past weekend. His entrance to the O2 Arena had the sold-out crowd every bit as loud and rambunctious as the fighter himself. After finishing Jordan Leavitt via rear naked choke in the second round, Pimblett discussed in the post-fight presser how the arena is too small for him. His goal is still to headline a UFC card at his beloved Liverpool Football Club’s home stadium: Anfield.
“I know I won’t be fighting in The O2 again. It’s too small. We will do Anfield.
Pimblett Doubles Down on UFC Anfield Promise, Calls O2 “Too Small”
I promise you now. [UFC President] Dana [White] said he won’t do Anfield, but he also said women will never fight in the UFC, and Ronda Rousey came along. He said he won’t do a stadium in the U.K., but the Baddy’s come along, so he will.”
Pimblett’s post-fight interview also featured a heartbreaking discussion of male mental health. Pimblett, just hours before this week’s weigh-in, woke up to news that a friend of his at home in Liverpool had committed suicide. Paddy “The Baddy” used his time on the mic to highlight the need for men to simply open up to one another.
“Women talk to each other. There’s no stigma with women. They sit around and have a cup of tea and have a jangle. Men don’t, lad. Men feel like, ‘Oh, I can’t go and say that to women because they’ll think I’m a little mushroom. That’s what men think.
As I said in the cage, I’d much rather my friend come to me and speak to me and cry on my shoulder than me have to cry when I’m carrying his coffin a week later. Split-second decisions ruin lives, and that’s what happened this weekend.
People in the position where I’m in, people who have got a bit of a following, they should help people … whether it’s Joe on the street or your mate. We should have to give back, because without all the fans, we wouldn’t get paid.
I just like giving back. And as I said, I’m starting a charity for little kids, ‘The Little Baddies,’ but I’m obviously now thinking about doing a men’s mental health charity. The U.K. doesn’t give any funding for it, and it’s the biggest killer of men 21-45. Men just kill themselves, and no one cares. We need to change it.”
Will we see Paddy the Baddy headlining Anfield? Let us know in the comments.
