MMA world celebrates emotional power Beatle Paddy Pimblett

A special kind of UFC star
MMA world celebrates emotional power Beatle Pimblett

By Michael Bauer, London
7/24/2022 6:36 am

A spectacular victory, two doner kebabs in seven minutes and an emotional statement with a strong message: MMA fighter Paddy Pimblett shows the whole spectrum at UFC London that makes him a star.

The UFC has a new big star. Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett embodies everything the sport desires: the ability to fuel a fight with whatever it takes and the athletic quality to walk the talk. In addition, the 27-year-old seems grounded and uses the big stage for topics that are often ignored by society.

Ahead of the fight with Jordan Leavitt at UFC London, Liverpool’s Pimblett left no stone unturned to provoke his opponent. After Leavitt had regularly celebrated his victories with the dance style “twerking”, Pimblett announced that in the event of a victory he would want the American “tea bags”. The suggestion of this sex practice was intended as a humiliation for his opponent. In the traditional face-off, Pimblett grinned cheekily in his opponent’s face and motioned for a handshake, but pulled back when Leavitt was about to punch. Fans celebrated their local hero for this kindergarten action, but it shows that Pimblett knows exactly what resonates with audiences.

Leavitt suddenly the party crasher

And even if Paddy “The Baddy” had predicted at the press conference in the run-up to the event how the encounter with Leavitt would go – as is so often the case in MMA sport – a fight cannot really be planned. The Englishman had to use all his grappling skills, especially in the first round, to fend off Leavitt’s takedown attempts. The American even managed to knock Pimblett down once. In an even first lap, Leavitt suddenly soared to become the party crasher for the raging London crowd.

In the second round, however, “The Baddy” had a solution to the American, who repeatedly went into the clinch. Kneeing Leavitt’s head, he fell to the ground. The maneuver allowed Pimblett to grab his opponent and set up a submission hold. Leavitt was only able to parry the tight rear-naked choke for a few seconds before giving up via tap. The hinted “teabag” follows, Leavitt takes it with humor – both fighters show respect with a hug.

The audience celebrates the action and the victory frenetically, the blond Beatles wigs fly through the air – beer showers included. Pimblett also enjoys the moment – and then becomes emotional in the interview in the octagon. He dedicates the win to “Baby Lee”, a four-year-old from Liverpool who lost the battle with cancer a few weeks ago.

Fate for Pimblett

Then he talks about another stroke of fate, one of his friends took his own life a few days ago. “There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk. Listen, if you’re a man and you’ve got a load on your shoulders and you think the only way to solve the problem is to kill yourself, then talk to someone,” Pimblett said. A goosebump moment.

Then the song sounds, which could hardly fit the Liverpooler and this situation better: “You’ll never walk alone”. Pimblett joins in briefly, then collapses in the cage crying. The crowd favorite leaves the arena in tears. Standing ovations and applause for Pimblett.

In the post-fight media round, Pimblett gives a similar picture. First he greedily devours two doner kebabs in just under seven minutes and then picks up the emotional topic again. “Women talk to each other. There is no stigma there,” said the 27-year-old. “In a split second a life can be ruined. And that’s what happened to me this week. But people like me who are in the spotlight should help others. And I’m thinking about starting a charity for mental health problems There’s no charity funding for that in the UK. Nobody talks about it. People kill themselves and nobody cares. That has to change.”

The fighter with the blond Beatles haircut is well aware of his popularity and the hype surrounding him doesn’t stop. The British fans will probably have to do without Pimblett home games in the future. The attraction and fan support for the 27-year-old has become too great. “This will be my last fight in the UK for a few years until we play at Anfield. After that I’ll fight on pay-per-views,” Pimblett said ahead of the fight. The UFC loses too much money if he fights in the USA on the cheaper payment platform ESPN +. Customers pay around $7 a month for ESPN+, and UFC PPVs cost just under $75 in the US.

Then there should also be the fees. Youtuber and hobby boxer Jake Paul also asked for it on Twitter after the fight: “Finally pay Paddy his millions,” he wrote. Millions of dollars, that’s what Pimblett dreams of too. But completely unselfish. Pimblett said in March that once he earns McGregor money, no child in Liverpool should go hungry. He will use the money to support the food banks in his hometown.