“Get your a** out my face!” shouts Paddy Pimblett, the most captivating personality in mixed martial arts right now.
Those aren’t words uttered by the Liverpudlian during his hotel bust-up with Ilia Topuria last week, or during his victory over Rodrigo Vargas at UFC London, but rather an instruction directed at Pimblett’s dog as the lightweight speaks to reporters over Zoom.
For the duration of the call, “Paddy The Baddy”’s pet has its backside aimed towards the 27-year-old’s face, its tail wagging relentlessly. In a sense, it is reminiscent of Pimblett, who has come across like an excited dog at times during his UFC run so far.
The exuberant, straightforward Scouser has been somewhat divisive among fans since his debut last September, but there is no hyperbole in saying he seems to carry the star potential that only Conor McGregor has truly realised in the sport. Pimblett, a former Cage Warriors lightweight champion like McGregor, is now 2-0 in the UFC, having survived moments of adversity in both of those fights to win via first-round stoppage.
After knocking out Luigi Vendramini last year, Pimblett submitted Vargas in the O2 Arena on Saturday night, at the first edition of UFC London for three years. The event was the highest-grossing sporting event in the venue’s history, and the night was a landmark one for British MMA. And Pimblett was the star attraction, without even being in the main event.
“I always knew this was gonna happen, that’s just the start. Wait until we have a bigger stadium and bigger crowd. People aren’t ready for how next-level it’s gonna be,” says the Liverpool FC fan, who dreams of headlining at Anfield and has received messages of congratulations from Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson, among others.
“I always grew up wanting to be a Liverpool player, so obviously when Liverpool players are messaging me – saying well done and good luck and stuff like that – it’s unbelievable. It’s boss. Anfield will sell out if I’m fighting a bin man, genuinely. I’m the draw, I don’t need anyone, they need me.”
Pimblett used his post-fight interview in the O2 Arena’s Octagon to lead fans in a chant of “justice for the 97”, and he sports a “Never trust a Tory” t-shirt during this call, the top featuring illustrations of Jurgen Klopp, Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah laughing.
When asked whether he ever worries about the potential ramifications of airing his political views, Pimblett laughs: “Na, I don’t care, lad, I really don’t. Try and cancel me, I’ll still be stood here. I’m just being myself, I don’t like all these people that put on an act and make us look like WWE fighters and fools. You’ve got to be genuine, I always say it. That’s why a lot of people are drawn to me, because I’m just a normal kid.”
Pimblett has, however, lost hundreds of thousands of followers on social media due to his accounts being disabled numerous times. The 27-year-old says his retaliations to “bullies” have been the cause, and he admits that he fears a negative effect on his charity work and support of those suffering from mental-health issues.
“If you’ve got a platform like I’ve got, why shouldn’t you help people? People who have this sort of platform and don’t use it for good are A-holes, you know what I mean? I always say: It’s nice to be nice, it’s nice to be polite, it’s nice to have manners. A lot of the world has forgotten about that lately, which... I don’t know, it’s sad.”
Pimblett’s platform will only expand as his profile continues to rapidly grow, and he hopes his bank balance will also swell. Fans who have been drawn to MMA by Pimblett expressed disbelief at his contract this week, when the “Baddy” revealed he is currently on “$12,000 to show, $12,000 to win”. Those more familiar with the UFC were less surprised but still appalled at the figures, and Pimblett has said he will not fight a ranked opponent until he is given a new deal.
He humbly adds, however, that there is another reason to avoid a top-15 opponent. “I’m not getting ahead of myself, I know I’m not ready for anyone ranked yet,” he says. As such, when he is asked to address the mild criticism of his level of opposition so far in the UFC, Pimblett laughs: “I don’t really give much of a flying f***, lad.”
Pimblett’s self-awareness when it comes to his own game will serve him well as he seeks to improve, and commenting on an early knockdown that he suffered against Vargas, he says: “You don’t really have much time to think about it, lad, but that’s something I do, which I need to get out the habit of doing: I take a punch to wake up.
“And when I’m too close to the cage, I’ll just bounce my bum off the cage and try to grab your leg. There was a terrible takedown attempt on my behalf. So, they’re two things I need to work on straight away. But when I stood back up, I thought: ‘Are you really trying to keep hold of me here? Are you not trying to separate and punch? Because that’s the only chance you’ve got of winning.”
Pimblett moved to 18-3 with his win against Vargas, and he aims to fight at least twice more this year. The Scouser can therefore not afford to balloon in weight as he has notoriously tended to in the past. That said, a noticeably fuller-faced Pimblett admits to having eaten “10,700 calories on Monday”.
In a strange way, Pimblett’s fluctuating physique is one of the idiosyncrasies that make him so intriguing. As down to earth as he appears to be, the stratosphere beckons.
“I think have James [Buckley, from The Inbetweeners] playing me the age I am now, Owen Wilson when I’m a bit older,” he says, when asked about the prospect of a film documenting his life and career.
“We just need to find a little child version of me and we’re flying.”
Pimblett is already flying, and if he maintains his current trajectory, there may be no way back down to earth.
