British sensation and self-proclaimed Fifth Beatle Paddy Pimblett took UFC by storm in 2021, but he’s singing a different tune now.
Pimblett, who is on a five-fight winning streak, welcomed twin daughters with his wife this summer and is looking to follow in the footsteps of lightweight boxer Charles Oliveira, who said the births of his children helped him refocus his efforts to win a world title.
“Hopefully one of those guys will come here,” Pimblett said in an interview with The Post ahead of his fight against Bobby Green at UFC 304 in Manchester on July 27.
But despite never losing inside the Octagon, Pimblett has struggled over the past two years.
Pimblett has been at the top of the world with UFC, steadily climbing the PPV rankings and amassing nearly three million followers on Instagram, making him a star in the promotion.
a Clash with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani Despite his dominant performance at UFC 282 in December 2022, Pimblett’s career trajectory was rocked when he made some controversial comments following his narrow decision win over Jared Gordon.
“People still say [his fight with Jared Gordon] “It was robbery,” Pimblett explained. Some fans believed the umpire had called the game winner wrong. “I just don’t get it.”
Pimblett said he mistakenly thought he had won the first two rounds and cruised through the third round with ease, but ended up winning despite the scorecards looking a bit wonky.
In the post-fight interview, Pimblett challenged announcer Joe Rogan when he said the match was “close”, to which Pimblett quickly replied, “No, it wasn’t.”
At the end of his post-fight interview with Rogan, Pimblett asked UFC president Dana White for a “Fight of the Night” bonus, but fans seemed opposed to this as well, as they were expecting a big win.
“Everyone loves to jump on the Paddy-hating bandwagon. I hurt my ankle in the first round and it affected my footwork a lot. I had to have surgery… I had to sleep on the sofa because I couldn’t get up the stairs.”
This, he says, has worsened his mental state over the past few months and weeks.
He missed three months of training with an ankle injury that he said contributed to his poor cardiovascular performance in his fight with Tony Ferguson a year later.
“I was a bit down afterwards, to be honest,” Pimblett said, adding that not being able to train between the Gordon and Ferguson bouts had affected his mental state and likely led to him being less cardio for his next fight.
Pimblett gained national media attention after his high-profile suicide prevention advocacy following his second-round submission win over Jordan Leavitt in July 2022.
“When I played in July and beat Jordan Leavitt, [talked about mental health]”I was the best thing since sliced bread,” Pimblett said. “I was the best thing in the world.”
“Literally five months later I won by a close decision. It was a close decision. I regret the things I said in the cage. [that it wasn’t a close fight]”But I only played 15 minutes. That’s what people don’t understand,” Pimblett said.
The malicious side of the internet has since slammed the Liverpudlian, but for now it seems he has beaten it.
“At the same time, people were commenting on all my work and saying stuff, and the worst part was some of the comments were like, ‘You should just kill yourself, your life is over’ and ‘There’s nothing else you can do,'” Pimblett explained. “It messed with my mind, but it made me so much stronger.”
Barring a massive, almost unprecedented, line-up change, Pimblett’s next bout against Green will mark his first as an underdog since his 2018 fight against Soren Back for the European organization Cage Warriors.
But Pimblett says he isn’t surprised.
“People underestimate me because I still look 18,” says Pimbret, 29. “People still think I’m a kid. I can’t wait to see him at the press conference and the weigh-ins because I think I’ll be taller than him…I’m one of the biggest guys in the lightweight division so I’m a real lightweight. Green is a featherweight superman.”
“I’m going to make Bobby look like an old man,” Pimblett said, predicting a dominant performance on the main card.
“Everyone knows I have the grappling advantage. The only way Bobby can beat me is to fight me for 15 minutes straight…Personally, I think I can beat him no matter how I fight. I know he can’t knock me out because he doesn’t have the power.”
Pimblett is known for his old-school Beatles-style haircut, but he won’t be reprising his youthful hairstyle at UFC 304.
“Yeah, braids are making a comeback, and that’s definitely why my hair is so long right now,” Pimblett said.
Pimblett is hoping to win on July 27 near his hometown of Manchester, England, and may then spark further discussion about mental health.
“Maybe I need to talk to you again. [about mental health] “And that continues to be the case after this,” Pimblett said.
Pimblett is a phenomenon in the region, so fans should definitely side with him in the raucous crowds.
A win would be a big plus for the British star as he looks to rapidly climb the rankings in pursuit of a title bout.
