Pimblett to fight at UFC 304 despite mental health concerns

MMA star Paddy Pimblett revealed on Wednesday that poor mental health almost led him to pull out UFC 304 this weekend in Manchester.

The 29-year-old lightweight, who fights Bobby Green in the early hours of Sunday, shared that the decision was nearly forced on him by his coach, Paul Rimmer, who grew concerned about his frame of mind during training.

Pimblett said that up until about a month ago, his preparation was going poorly.

“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’,” he shared at the UFC 304 media day.

“I knew there was stuff going on externally and stuff going on in my head.

“Obviously when Paul said it to me, I was upset. I was not happy with him. I was angry.”

Confronting issues turned Pimblett’s camp around

After Pimblett’s coach confronted him about his mental health issues, the Brit revealed that this was a turning point in his training.

“Since that moment, I’ve had one of the best camps I’ve ever had a couple of weeks out,” he declared.

“The last couple of weeks has just been quality and I’m looking forward to getting into the octagon again and beating this idiot [Green] up.”

UFC bookmakers are not quite as confident as Pimblett, however, with the majority favouring Green.

Bovada puts the fight at -125 to +100 in Green’s favour, with a decision win to the American the most likely result at +125.

Pimblett lets rip about mental health comments

Pimblett opened up about his struggles with mental health in his press conference on Wednesday.

The Liverpudlian fighter had a close friend commit suicide in 2022, something which has made him vocal about the topic.

“It was Ricky’s anniversary two days ago,” said Pimblett, referring to his deceased friend.

“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.”

The UFC star is not happy about the way some fans have been talking about the topic, however.

He spent a portion of his time on Wednesday ripping into commenters who said that he is just talking about suicide for attention.

“People saying I’m just doing it for a PR stunt,” he explained.

“Like, why would I invite pressure on myself like that for a PR stunt? It’s mad.”

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