MANCHESTER, England – Paddy Pimblett has established himself as a voice for mental health advocation, particularly pertaining to men and the stigma that exists.
On numerous occasions throughout his UFC tenure, Pimblett (21-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) has utilized his mic time to open up about how mental health issues have impacted his life, namely with the suicide of a close friend in 2022.
While Pimblett has been praised by many for his public advocation for the cause, some detractors have infuriated him, particularly those accusing him of disingenuous motives.
“Obviously, getting it off my chest helps,” Pimblett told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a UFC 304 pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “It was Ricky’s anniversary two days ago. I’ve been thinking about it a lot more. It’s been bad again lately. Another lad in Liverpool killed himself a few weeks ago. A young MMA fighter, Connor Hitchens, killed himself three months ago and he was younger than me. I just feel like it needs talking about.”
Pimblett admits he himself has struggled at times mentally, as recently as the earlier parts of his UFC 304 training camp. In a recent interview, Pimblett said he nearly pulled out of the fight due to his deteriorated mental status.
Whether trolls or believers, the negative commenters caught Pimblett’s attention.
“I’ll be honest, lads, seeing Sky Sports put that interview up and some of the responses to it are f*cking disgusting,” Pimblett said. “People are saying I’m just doing it for the PR stunts. Like, why would I invite pressure on myself, to be honest? It’s mad. People are saying I’m only doing it for that reason when I know several people who have killed themselves. I’ve talked about it in the past. Why would I bring that sort of pressure on myself? But again, I do it because I feel like I need to and I don’t want more people to kill themselves. Especially men, they don’t talk to people and kill themselves. Some of the responses to me saying that are like, ‘Just kill yourself, then. You might as well kill yourself.’ That’s what some of the responses have been. Other people have been quoting them and putting, ‘No wonder men don’t talk when the responses are like this.’
A recent video of Pimblett in a pub also sparked further condemnation online. One X user questioned Pimblett’s depression because of the elation the UFC fighter showed while watching a soccer game in the video. The post received over 700,000 impressions – and really aggravated Pimblett.
“One of the ones that proper pissed me off is that video of people saying I’m bullying people,” Pimblett said. “People saying, ‘Oh, he’s a pisshead. … He’s bullying people in the pub, coked up.’ That was two weeks out from the fight, lad. Do you think I had a drink? I had a diet Red Bull and a f*cking water. All the people that I’m with is my mates. I went to school with them all. I grew up with them all. They’re all coming to the fight on Saturday. They all jumped on me 10 minutes earlier when Cole Palmer scored and celebrated on me. So when my bet came in and I got a last-minute winner, I celebrated on them. That’s just how the world works.”
While Pimblett continues to attempt to verbally combat the detractors, he’s brought his own mental health back on track. According to Pimblett, a discussion with his coach was the turnaround point. It’s been smooth sailing since and he’s excited to show just how well he prepared when he fights King Green (32-15-1 MMA, 13-10-1 UFC) at Co-op Live.
“I’ve had one of the best camps I’ve ever had,” Pimblett said. “A couple of weeks out, like I said, four, five, six weeks out, I was thinking, ‘Oh, my god. This is the worst camp of my life and I’m going into arguably my toughest fight. But then the last couple of weeks has just been quality. I’m looking forward to getting in the octagon again and beating this idiot up.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.
