Paddy Pimblett has been implored by former UFC bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw to stop ballooning in weight between fights and take his opportunity more seriously.
Dillashaw has previously drawn Pimblett's ire after the Scouse fighter criticised him for suggesting he will never become world champion with his current diet. Pimblett hit back at Dillashaw branding him a "cheating little juice head" after the initial criticism, leading to a back-and-forth on social media.
But ahead of his fight with Aljamain Sterling for the bantamweight title at UFC 280 tomorrow night, Dillashaw told Mirror Fighting there is no bad blood between he and Pimblett. He explained he was just looking to offer advice to the fighter, particularly given the promotional push that the promotion are giving the Liverpool native.
"It was funny, I did an interview on [Brendan] Schaub's podcast and he asked me about Paddy The Baddy," Dillashaw said. "I was like 'yeah, they're going a good job of pumping him up to become a superstar right away', but my only concern was, dude, how fat he gets outside of camp.
"I've never seen a champion that treats their body like that, name me one champion who gets that fat out of camp like that? When you see these guys who get to the highest level they're addicted to what they do. I highly believe that someone like Conor [McGregor] was f***ing addicted to wanting to make it."
What do you make of TJ Dillashaw's comments towards Paddy Pimblett? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Pimblett, who fights at lightweight, can weigh as much as 207lb between fights which would qualify him as a heavyweight. And Dillashaw doesn't believe that living such a lifestyle can allow for a fighter to reach their athletic peak when they get to the top level of the UFC.
"When you see those guys who have an off-season like that who obviously aren't worried about being in the gym and are more worried about eating and drinking how dedicated can you be?" He asked. "I said something to the affect of that and he's one of the guys who pays attention to social media and interviews and what's said and trolls back at people, I don't.
"I said something in an interview and he took it personal and all I said back was 'let's see how long you last in the UFC living that lifestyle. He's getting an opportunity in the UFC because they're doing a very good job promoting him - so take it f***ing seriously, man. Make some f***ing money because you've got the chance to do it. It was more a sense of advice than talking s*** but some people handle advice however they want to take it."
