Paddy Pimblett traded personal insults with Jordan Leavitt before their fight - but has admitted he almost felt bad after submitting him.
Pimblett, 27, picked up his third consecutive UFC win last month by submitting Leavitt in London. It marked the Liverpudlian's second win of the calendar year in the capital having also submitted Kazula Vargas at The O2 arena in March. Leavitt had downplayed Pimblett's abilities in the build-up to the fight, which angered Pimblett as he promised to 'teabag' on him after their bout.
Reflecting on a moment where Leavitt was visibly upset whilst stood next to his coaches after being submitted, Pimblett admitted he had mixed emotions watching the fight back. "I feel harsh when I watch it back and see Jordan stood there like that, but he was talking all pony beforehand so he got dealt with," he told BT Sport.
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Pimblett credited his creativeness for the win and thinks his style is extremely hard to prepare for, adding: "That's the thing with me, why you can't train to fight me. I'm very creative in the things that I do, I throw strikes from positions that you don't know where a strike is coming from. That's what won me that fight, it wasn't grappling, striking or anything else. It was my creativity that won me the fight."
Just as he did after his win in March, Pimblett went on a food binge following his win over Leavitt as he put on 45lb in just a matter of weeks. 'The Baddy' could be set for another hefty weight cut later this year as he is hopeful of competing on the UFC 282 card on December 10, which is the promotion's final pay-per-view of the year and will likely take place in Las Vegas.
Pimblett said that after his post-fight speech about men's mental health, he received an unprecedented amount of support. "I've had thousands of messages. I can't put into words or describe how much means it me. I've been asked to become an ambassador for so many different charities, it means a lot. I'm making my own mental health charity in the next few months, The Little Baddies, so that's why I'm respectfully and politely declining to be an ambassador because I want to start my own thing," he added.
