Getty Paddy Pimblett celebrates defeating Rodrigo Vargas during UFC Fight Night: Volkov v Aspinall.
UFC superstar Paddy Pimblett got warned by rising prospect Sean O’Malley about putting on copious amounts of weight between fights.
Pimblett is coming off a hard-fought victory over Jordan Leavitt in July at UFC London. The fan-favorite racked up his third straight win under the banner, all coming by finishes. Pimblett endeared himself to the community with his charismatic and relatable personality. He also gained popularity online for his tendency to bulk up quite heavily, going as high as 200 pounds when he is not fighting.
While his love for food may seem innocuous, Pimblett has received cautions from numerous fellow athletes and world champions.
In a recent episode of “The Timbo Sugar Show” podcast, “Suga” Sean warned Pimblett to be more cautious with his eating habits as they could take a big toll on his health and longevity in the sport.
“It will age you quick,” O’Malley said via MMA Junkie. “I never really get fat ever, but even when I’m bigger, it’s like I can’t train. I mean, I still can and I feel stronger at that weight, but it’s not realistic. I’m not going to be 159 (pounds) in the cage ever. I get in the cage 155, 154, whatever, so it’s just not good. It’s not good.”
The top-ranked bantamweight contender O’Malley is on friendly terms with the English star and expressed his desire to grab a bite with Pimblett someday.
“He probably never was really making a ton of money. Now he’s making good money, he’s traveling to the United States, he’s going to L.A. eating all this, all those opportunities. I would love to go eat with him.”
Dana White Believes Pimblett’s Weight Gain Hurts the UFC
UFC president Dana White believes that Pimblett’s weight gain in between fights hurt his health as well as the company. Although Pimblett lets loose after his bouts, he has never had a problem with making weight. White does not think it is a good idea for Pimblett’s health but doesn’t feel like it’s his place to object.
“It’s not good for you,” White said via MMA Junkie. “We all know that. We know that fluctuating and cutting that much weight is very bad, and it definitely doesn’t prolong your career. It’s tough on your body and your organs and stuff like that, but listen: He’s a grown man. He can do whatever the hell he wants to do.”
Pimblett ballooning up so heavy requires him to cut a lot of weight for fights, which makes it harder to book him quickly. White does not want to pressure Pimblett either and tends to work around his schedule.
“It makes it tough for us too, because when we’re in the matchmaking room, we want to throw together a fight, maybe we can throw him on a card in a month, a month-and-a-half, it hurts us too,” White said. “We have to be very specific when we plan fights for him, because he’s nowhere near close to weight, and what you don’t want to do is put that kind of pressure to cut that much weight in that short amount of time.”
Volkanovski Cautioned Pimblett Against Gaining So Much Weight
The reigning UFC featherweight champion and pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski had voiced his concern for Pimblett in an interview with The Allstar. Having been a professional rugby player who weighed over 210-pounds, Volkanovski shared his experience from a similar position.
“I used to do that,” Volkanovski said (ht MMA Mania). “Back in the days when you used to talk to me, when I would go and people see me win the PXC world title [at] Featherweight. I’d go back to Thailand not even two weeks later and people are looking at me like, ‘How do you look like that? You were just here. What?! It doesn’t make sense.’
“I used to weigh in at 65.8 [kilograms], 145,” he continued. “And within the week … so next weekend, 86 kilograms. I used to go from 145 to 190 in one week. It’s not healthy. It’s terrible. It blows my mind how his head just balloons like that, it’s quite funny.”