Paddy Pimblett told how he feared his days as a party animal in Liverpool after winning his first title would cost him his future.
Pimblett won Cage Warriors on the age of only 21 and quickly embraced the famous lifestyle in his native Liverpool. He would party with friends in night clubs and lived the lifestyle of a much larger star than he was at the time.
Shortly after the controversial, Julian Erosa defeated in his first title defense, the scouser was dethroned by Nad Narimani. After he had lost another fight against Soren Bak, he feared that if he ever got the UFC, he might just be a travel man, but has since turned around and is now on the edge of a top ten place.
Paddy Pimblett admits that he feared that he would be UFC travel
Paddy Pimblett is not the only athlete in his family; His uncle Frank was a potential football player whose attitude and drink eventually cost him a career at the highest level. 'Paddy the Baddy' feared that he was about to have the same problem after winning Cage Warriors Gold, but has since turned it around.
“His drinks and his parties and his feminine, he would have been the best football player of his generation if that wasn't,” said Pimblett about his uncle during an interview with One One MMA.
“And I almost went on the same path when I was 21 and I won that world title and thought I was the knees of the bee.
“I almost finished exactly the same path and partyed all the time and was just an idiot. So I am glad that I had that time on Cage Warriors and it was me because I could have ended up as our Frank, he went to Australia and was a legend like Brisbane or something, he was too good for that competition.
“No manager in England would touch him with an inland navigation pole because of how bad his attitude was … He had the best football player that England had ever seen, but instead pushed his attitude outside the football field out of the way.
“That could have happened to me and that is why I am happy that I received the first two offers from the UFC when I was younger, I said 'no'. Because I now know more that the fame of the UFC is 10-fold Cage Warriors and got it a bit on my head when I won the Cage Warriors title.
“People started asking me photos in Liverpool and Manchester. So if I went to the UFC then, I know for sure that I would have gone 3-6 and was cut. The fact that I steadily and gradually built up my career as I helped myself.”
Paddy Pimblett is now facing Michael Chandler for UFC Top Ten Ranking
Once Pimblett had started his way to the UFC, he quickly started to rise through the ranks and showed his improvements fighting by fighting. Now one of the biggest stars in the promotion, he could catapult himself in serious position with a victory over Michael Chandler at UFC 314.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
He is confronted with the former Bellator champion in a Co-Main event with five rounds that could have him delivered the number seven in the division, or even higher. He is currently number 12 after a stunning entry victory on King Green on UFC 304 last summer
Pimblett rejected the UFC twice on the way up in Cage Warriors, but eventually signed in 2021 and immediately made an impact.
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