Paddy Pimblett (Liverpool, January 3, 1995) is one of the most high-profile UFC fighters without a doubt. He has seven wins since joining the company, but 'The Baddy' has never been given a title shot. Now he is closer than ever to facing Ilia Topuria, the lightweight champion and his great enemy. The rivalry between the two goes back years, when the Englishman made some comments about the Georgian people that 'El Matador' does not forgive him for. Sportswear brand Under Armour gives us the opportunity to chat with an athlete who, beyond the image he projects to the public, proves to be a guy who cares a lot about others. Paddy stars alongside former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in the campaign Be The Problem:Two fighters. Two disciplines. One mentality. Paddy Pimblett strips naked and sends a message to his critics: Kiss my assAP Question. You started working with Under Armour last year. It's one of the biggest sports brands out there. Is this what you needed to progress in your career? How are they helping you? I don't have to worry so much about my wife and kids, because they're well taken care of. And, obviously, there's all the other perks that come with it. For example, I don't have to buy clothes anymore. You know what I mean? They give me all the clothes and sneakers I'm wearing today. But yeah, it's helped me a lot in life. That's what being with Under Armour is all about, you know? And obviously, besides the clothes, the commercials and all that stuff, you meet a lot of nice new people that you would never have met. In Spain, many people know Paddy Pimblett because he is Topuria's enemy, although also because he is a great fighter, but they do not know much more about you. Tell Spanish fans who you are, what you are like. Why did you become a fighter? Well, to be honest, the poor guy is not Spanish. Let's make that clear from the start. Do you understand me? He's German. He pretends to be Georgian and Spanish to get more fans, when in reality he was born in Germany. He's German. But let's go on. You know, people in Spain, as they follow him, may not like him. But I accept it, do you understand me? Either you hate me or you love me. If you hate me, you're still going to see me. If you love me, you're going to see me and support me. So it doesn't bother me, as long as people are curious to see me fight. But some people just see a taller kid when they look at me and think I'm pretty stupid and this and that. But I'm a father, do you know what I mean? I'm a husband and I have a family to take care of. I'm a veteran in this sport. I've been doing this for over 15 years. I've been doing this for more than half my life. I started when I was 15 years old. In a few months I'll be 31. I've been fighting all this time, do you know what I mean? And I don't really get the respect I deserve, but once I punch Ilia in the face I'll get that respect. Some people think I'm pretty stupid and this and that. But I'm a father, I'm a husband and I have a family to take care of Paddy Pimblett You have a mental health foundation. Could you explain why you created it? Yes, that's what motivated the creation of the Baddy Foundation, because in Liverpool there were very bad people who were constantly committing suicide. The night before one of my fights, a friend of mine took his own life and that's why I said what I said when I was in the cage. But it's not just Liverpool, it's not just the UK, it's everywhere. People, especially men, don't talk about their feelings. Some people are stuck in the 1930s, with ideas like: 'We're men, we shouldn't say this, we should be strong', etc. If you wake up crying, if you wake up with tears in your eyes like I used to years ago, you have to go and talk to someone. You can't get out of it by yourself. You have to go and talk to someone. And the foundation is trying to help with its donations. When we get money, we try to donate it to the mental health centre I went to, where I received counselling, James' Place. We donate money to them so they can hire another worker, another full-time therapist, so that more people can be seen more quickly. Just spreading the word more and more, I have charity events planned to raise money for this. So hopefully we can continue to provide money for mental health, for other mental health institutions that will save more lives. If you wake up with tears in your eyes like I did years ago, you have to go talk to someone. You can't get out of it by yourself Paddy Pimblett How has your life and career changed by being a father? Yes, being a parent is not easy, but it makes every second worthwhile. It has changed my career because without them I would not say it is as hard as I do and I would not be as dedicated as I am. I've always worked hard and been dedicated body and soul, but I did it just for myself. And it's different when you do it for two little human beings who depend on you for everything. Now I do it more for them. As everyone in the gym tells me, I'm much more focused, much more motivated, and I didn't even realize it. It's the others who tell me that. And that's just because of them. Do you know what I mean? I want to succeed for them. I want them to never have to worry about anything in their lives. So I'm here to protect them and by winning fights, that's what I do. Since becoming a father, everyone at the gym tells me that I'm much more focused, much more motivated, and I didn't even realize it Paddy Plimbett Is it fair? You have seven wins in a row. [The interview was conducted on October 14, before he moved to No. 6] Yes, seven wins and I'm in seventh place, but when I beat Michael Chandler, he was in seventh place. So it's only fair that you move up to the spot of the person you just beat. So yeah, I think seventh place is pretty fair, but right now I'm struggling to get a fight. People talk a lot behind the scenes saying: 'I want to fight him, I want to fight him', and then when it comes time for the fight, they don't accept it. So I'm sitting in limbo waiting for the fight. I thought I was going to fight Gaethje in Abu Dhabi in October, but he's not going to be involved and Dan Hooker is going to fight Arman Tsarukyan and Charles [Oliveira] just fought Gamrot. There's no one else I can fight, apart from Ilia Topuria, so hopefully that fight will be sorted out. I think it would have been sorted out by now if he had signed the contract, but he's stalling. He's another one. He talks a lot behind the scenes, but when it comes to signing the contract, he doesn't put his name on it. Topuria talks a lot but when it comes to signing the contract he doesn't put his name on it Paddy Pimblett https://twitter.com/USER_ID/status/1980993667319157149 Is this the perfect time to fight Topuria? Yes, it's the perfect time. When he moved up to lightweight, I said I should be the one to welcome him. I should have been in his first lightweight fight, but it never happened and he was gifted a title shot. So, you know, there are probably other people who deserve it more than me, but give me the title shot and we'll do one of the biggest fights the UFC has ever seen. We don't like each other. We really don't like each other. It's not an act. We both want to hurt each other and he has something I want. So I'll make him suffer. Do you know what I mean? He wouldn't come out of that fight the same as he went in. I'd give him so many elbows... So yeah, just give me that fight. That's all I'm saying. Give me that fight. He's talked enough about it backstage, behind the scenes, behind everything. But now it's about signing the contract for the fight. He's not doing it. So this is going to come out in a Spanish media outlet: step up, Ilia, stop being a chorizo, be a man. Topuria and I really don't get along. It's not an act. We both want to hurt each other Paddy Plimbett Is there really something personal between Ilia and you? Yes, because he lied. He tried to do it, he lied saying that I had said something about a war and I never did, and then he tried to attack me. When I was alone and he was with ten other people, he tried to attack me. And from there everything went on. You know, nobody would know where Ilia Topuria is if it wasn't for me. He became famous at my expense. He wouldn't even be champion now if it wasn't for the fact that he got on my bandwagon. And now he thinks he's too good to fight me. He wouldn't be where he is without me. Do you understand what I mean? Are you really willing to come to Spain for this fight? Yes. I'll go anywhere for this fight. I'll go and fight him in his backyard. I don't care. I just want to fight him. I want to take that belt off him. And I want to hurt him. You also said something about the Bernabeu stadium. It's funny that everyone took it literally, as I said, the Bernabeu is a shithole. The Bernabeu is a nice stadium, you know what I mean? But for me, as it's his backyard, it's a shithole, you know what I mean? It's like a metaphor, it's like what we say. I'll go to the Bernabeu and punch him in the face on the pitch, and then I'll hit half the team if I have to, but I'll take the belt home, you know what I mean? It's just that I don't like Real Madrid as it is. We've lost two Champions League finals against them. So I don't like Real Madrid as it is. So to be able to go to that stadium and beat up their fake fan, because he's not a Madrid fan. He's not even from Madrid. He's not even from Spain. He's from Benidorm. So he's not a Madrid fan. He's just jumped on the bandwagon to get more fans and more followers. It's fake. He's as fake as half his followers, but it's been proven that half his followers on Instagram are 'bots'. He's the fakest person there is. He's just an imitation of McGregor and he's getting on my nerves. He's German. He's not even Spanish. He's not even Georgian. He was born in Germany. He's German. The Bernabeu is a shithole because it's his backyard [Topuria's]. But it's a nice stadium Paddy Plimbett You are a Liverpool fan. Next month... I'm looking forward to it. I hope they invite Ilia. We play against Real Madrid at Anfield. Let Real Madrid invite Ilia and I'll throw a bottle of water at his head or something so he can fight with me. Let Real Madrid invite Ilia [to Liverpool] and I'll throw a bottle of water at his head or something so he can fight me Paddy Plimbett Do you like [Xabi] Alonso?R. Oh, I love Alonso. Yes, Alonso is a Liverpool legend. Alonso is a legend at Liverpool. I love Alonso. But Liverpool are going to beat Real Madrid. Do you know that the new coach...R. He's a new coach and, as I say, he's done very well at Bayer Leverkusen. I like Alonso a lot. I hope he is successful at Real Madrid, but not at the expense of Liverpool.
