Paddy Pimblett loves turning skeptics into believers (2023)

So far, this has only come true. Whether arm in arm with teammate and UFC flyweight knockout Molly McCann, celebrating her wins, or dancing through the crowd on her way to the Octagon, Pimblett is a consistently vibrant and magnetic presence.

This rise to fame also comes with problems. Pimblett's head coach in Next Generation MMA, Paul Rimmer, admits that the reception his student receives leaves him impressed, whether he's walking the streets of Liverpool, New York or San Diego. Everyone wants a piece of The Baddy. When it comes to Pimblett's peers in the MMA world, everyone seems to have an opinion about his skills or the now infamous post-fight eating adventures.

While this might sound like an exciting experience, Pimblett has shown no signs of it so far. He's got a podcast, an active YouTube channel, and multiple sponsorship commitments all pulling towards him, and he still hasn't blinked. Several film crews hang around the Next Generation MMA gym every day, and Pimblett himself is known to carry a microphone every day. For him, everything is just "standard".

He hasn't even gotten too tired of the media onslaught that comes at him, especially when a fight is scheduled. While some, if not most, fighters have a certain level of enthusiasm when answering similar questions when training for a fight, Pimblett resists the notion of media fatigue.

"You have to think of everyone," he said. "You can't just think about the person you're talking to. You have to think about everyone in the situation. One person isn't going to listen to the interview I did last week and answered the question they're dying to answer (right now). You may not listen. I'm not going to say, 'Hey, you idiot, go listen to last week's interview.' I'm just going to answer the question."

He also understands that if he can't deliver the goods to the Octagon, all the excitement is gone. While some might profile her and cash in on the biggest fights for the fastest route to a UFC title shot, Pimblett sees a long ascent up the lightweight ladder for himself. While his popularity may have some fans classifying Pimblett as more of a veteran, Pimblett himself believes he won't make the top 15 until 2024 and doesn't see a title until late 2025 at the earliest.

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Part of that is patience in the process, but part of that is the fact that 155 is widely considered one of the deepest in the sport.

"Lightweight is the best division in the sport," he stated. "Always will be. It's not like in those other departments where they're too skinny. I have to win six fights, seven fights before I fight someone in the rankings. I know that and I don't deny it, like, 'Oh, I'm going to fight him the next day. next, I'm going to fight him next' because I won't."