Paddy Pimblett was honored on Friday night by the National Diversity Awards for his charitable efforts in Liverpool including his calls to speak more openly about depression and suicide.
Pimblett seemed shocked when he was called up to stage to accept the āCelebrity of the Year Award.ā
āYou know what, Iām not gonna lie ā¦ I havenāt got no speech prepared or anything like that,ā he said at the podium. āI didnāt expect this, I just thought I was here to make up the numbers for that category. I thought like, āYeah, heās from Liverpool. Weāll invite him. Heāll come!ā But Iāve won!ā
Pimblett has been vocal about difficulties with his mental health since arriving in the UFC, and has shared how he went through a deep depression in 2018. In 2
022 he dedicated a UFC post-fight victory speech to a friend who had committed suicide, urging men to talk to each other. The National Diversity Awards played that speech as Pimblett made his way to the stage.
āI canāt thank anyone enough for picking me,ā he continued. āBut, as I say, I just do what I do. Iām just a normal lad from Liverpool, and I just said what I said that night and obviously Iāve stuck with it. I need to give a big shout out to my foundation, The Baddy Foundation, and the people who I work with, Jamesās Place. They save lives constantly, menās lives. They saved mine. So a big shout out to them.ā
Mental health struggles arenāt just one-and-done. Pimblett recently admitted he was back in a bad place before his impressive win over King Green at UFC 304. Things were looking so bad his coaching team were prepared to pull āThe Baddyā off the card weeks out from the Manchester event.
āAs I say, Iām just doing my bit,ā Paddy concluded. āI think anyone in my position should try to help people less fortunate than them.ā
Pimblett has teased a return to the cage in late 2024, but itās a real question as to whether heāll fight again soon or if the UFC will throw him onto The Ultimate Fighter as a coach opposite Renato Moicano. Filming for the last two seasons of TUF started in February / March, and thus far the UFC hasnāt tipped their hand as to what theyāre thinking. So weāll have to continue to wait and see what they have next in line for the popular Scouse fighter.
Potato
Good stuff. Heās been an open face for menās mental health, well deserved
Good for him. Also, I suspect he knows a thing or two about eating disorders.
White guys can win diversity awards?
If theyāre faggy enough
If youāre depressed and Scouse.
That post-fight speech he gave about his friend who killed himself was touching.
Good for him.
Getting his head bashed should do wonders for his mental health.
He has pissed off some people with previous behaviour but the guy clearly has a lot of good in him.
Notice he says at the end ābecause of what I saidā instead of ābecause of meā. Humility.
Diversity award? Elias told us that Paddy is a knot see