Paddy Pimblett is riding on a cloud right now following his TKO victory against Michael Chandler during UFC 314.
The victory silenced a lot of the naysayers who said Paddy would never survive in the upper rankings of the lightweight division. Regardless of the noise from critics, Pimblett did it his way and walked away with an incredible win.
Well, the haters are back after it was learned that Pimblett has put on 42 pounds since the fight and is hanging out around 198 lbs.
Pimblett’s Not Alone
Which, by the way, is not exactly that controversial.
Dustin Poirier said that when he was a featherweight, he would “balloon up to 190 pounds” a couple of weeks after the fight.
That was back in 2014 when Poirier was a lot younger. According to Poirier, now he hangs around 180–182 lbs and the upper 170s when he’s in shape.
I walk around 180 -182. When im in shape mid low 170s lad https://t.co/7hDmXlbaKw
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) April 23, 2022
However, not everybody is cool with Pimblett’s choices.
Former UFC fighter Matt Brown, known for holding the record for most welterweight knockouts, is worried about Paddy’s weight gain.
“If I were his coach, I would have some concern,” Brown told MMA Fighting.
“What I tell all of my fighters is we have a short window here. You might be doing this for 15 to 20 years at most. There’s a lot that you can get out of it. Why not squeeze all the f—— juice out that you can?”
“It’s not a ton of suffering to not put on f—— 40lbs after a fight. You can enjoy yourself. Enjoy yourself with some moderation and then be back in the gym next week. Nothing wrong with that.”
He added: “You’re not in LFA, Cage Warriors, wherever he came from. You’re in with the top motherf—— in the world now, especially when you’re talking the 155 division. They’re absolute savages in that division.
“You’ve got to keep your f—— eyes on the prize. If I were his coach, I would be concerned. Like bro, you can’t be living this way. You’re so close. Let’s not climb up this far and then start chilling once we almost get to the summit.
“Now is not the time to relax. Now’s not the time to have fun. Now’s the time to double down. Now it’s crunch time. Double down on what you’ve been doing. Do more. Do it better. Do it harder.”
Paddy Is Eyeing One Of The Greatest Fight Destinations In The World
As for Pimblett, he’s not just looking at another fight to get him a title shot—he’s looking at doing it in style at one of the greatest fight destinations outside of Vegas… Abu Dhabi.
“I just wanna fight,” Pimblett said on the IT’S TIME!!! podcast with Bruce Buffer.
“Whoever that one person is that will get me a title shot, I want that fight.
“My plan even before the fight was to fight in Abu Dhabi in October.
“I’ve always wanted to fight there. The UFC always do a pay-per-view there in October.
“I just think it would be the perfect time to come back. Recharge my batteries over the summer, keep training every day, keep the weight down, and then go right back into camp in August or September.”
