Paddy Pimblett maintains that his weight fluctuations after a fight are entirely normal.
Known as ‘The Baddy’, Pimblett has a reputation for significantly increasing his weight between training camps, often indulging in less healthy food choices.
Before his victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 314 in April, Paddy Pimblett weighed in at 156 pounds. Just one week later, the lightweight prospect garnered attention by revealing his weight had risen to 198 pounds.
Paddy Pimblett addresses weight concerns
To celebrate the biggest win of his career, Paddy Pimblett hosted a private yacht party in Miami. Following this, the 30-year-old enjoyed some downtime in Dubai, indulging in his favorite foods. Predictably, this led to him weighing more than his fight weight, but Pimblett argues the increase is not as drastic as some suggest.
Pimblett recently clarified that the majority of his weight gain occurred in the 24 hours between successfully making weight and competing at UFC 314.
“It’s funny, innit? It’s mad. People think I put like 30lbs or like 40lbs on,” Pimblett said when asked about fan reaction to his post-fight weight gain.
“My face goes a bit chubby. I weigh in at 156, and yet people are like, ‘Oh, he’s put 40lb on.’ I haven’t, because I walk in the cage the next day like 185lbs.”
“So, I put like 10, 15lbs on from what I actually walk in the cage.”
He admitted to making “stupid” weight-related mistakes when younger but insists his approach for his last two fights has been “perfect.”
Despite seeing online comments suggesting he will soon “struggle to make weight,” he countered by stating:
“My last weight cut was the easiest I’ve ever done.”
Paddy Pimblett targets Justin Gaethje
Paddy Pimblett believes he is potentially just one more significant victory away from earning a shot at the lightweight championship.
The British fighter feels that defeating former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje would position him as the next challenger to the winner of the upcoming bout between Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira. That fight, scheduled for UFC 317 on June 28, will crown the new 155-pound king.
“I know for a fact that if I beat Gaethje, I’m next in line,” Pimblett added.
“It could be (next for me), yeah. It’s just whether he says yes or not, isn’t it? He’d be fighting down the rankings again.”
Pimblett expressed his preferred timeframe and location for the potential showdown with Gaethje:
“(I’d like to fight him) in Abu Dhabi in October, that Pay-per-view, that’s when I want to fight, that’s when I’ll be gearing towards, and after what I did to Chandler, I think I’d finish Justin Gaethje.”
Rupert Hartwell