Paddy Pimblett nearly didn’t get to fight at UFC 304 after his coach contemplated pulling him from the event because he just wasn’t in the right head space to compete.
Thankfully, things turned around during the latter stages of his training camp, but Pimblett admits there were moments where it felt like nothing was going right for him as he prepared for arguably the biggest fight of his career. As upset as he was when his coach suggested potentially not fighting on Saturday, the 29-year-old lightweight prospect realized he needed to correct course or a disastrous outing would be a distinct possibility.
“I knew there was stuff going on externally and stuff going on in my head,” Pimblett said during UFC 304 media day. “Obviously when Paul [Rimmer] said it to me, I was upset. I was not happy with him. I was angry. But obviously he’s my coach, he’s like my second dad. He’s only looking out for my best interests. But since that moment, I’ve had one of the best camps I’ve ever had 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 and I’m looking forward to getting into the octagon again and beating this idiot [King Green] up.”
Pimblett speaks often about his own mental health struggles and serves as an advocate in hopes that more people seek help rather than keeping those feelings bottled up.
On a personal level, Pimblett dealt with a tremendous loss after a close friend committed suicide, which made him really start to examine and identify his own issues.
“Obviously getting it off my chest helps, but like it was Ricky’s anniversary [of his death] two days ago,” Pimblett said. “Been thinking about it a lot more. It’s been bad again lately. Another lad in Liverpool killed himself a couple of weeks ago. A young MMA fighter, Connor Hitchens, killed himself like three months ago, and he’s younger than me. I just feel like it needs talking about.”
As much as he hopes he’s helping others by speaking out publicly regarding his own mental health, Pimblett erupted after reading some of the vile comments made toward him after a recent interview about his battles was published ahead of UFC 304.
Pimblett knows those kinds of loathsome reactions often prevent people — particularly men — from seeking necessary help.
“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 saying I’m just doing it for a PR stunt. Like, why would I invite pressure on myself like that for a PR stunt? It’s mad. People 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 type 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 just don’t talk to people and kill themselves.
“But some of the responses to me saying that are like, ‘Just kill yourself, you might as well just 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 [about mental health] when the responses are like this.”
It might sting to read those comments, but Pimblett promises he’s not going to stop talking about his mental health or the need for more open and honest conversations on the subject.
He knows the dark path he could’ve easily traveled down a long time ago if he didn’t get the help he needed. In fact, those kinds of thoughts still creep up on him unexpectedly, but now Pimblett has the resources available to him to make it through to the next day.
“I’ve said before, I wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t for my wife,” Pimblett said. “Without Laura, I would have took my life a long time ago. With my family, with my team, my mates, when that interview came out yesterday or today, I’ve had about six or seven messages off my mates, my boys that I grew up with [saying], ‘Are you alright?’
“But as I said, I feel good again. I feel great again. A couple of weeks ago, I was getting in touch with Jane, who works at James’ place, which is mental health for men where you go and speak, and I was getting in contact with her to have a chat with her. Just trying to get through it. As I say, I did, I got through it. I’m ready for anything now.”
