Former UFC bantamweight champion, T.J. Dillashaw, says that the UFC’s newest rising star, Paddy Pimblett’s poor diet outside of fight camp will come back to haunt him.
Dillashaw, who was banned from competing for two years for ingesting EPO, an injectable steroid, has criticized Liverpool’s, Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett for his infamous out-of-competition weight gains.
Talking to Brendan Schaub on ‘The Schaub Show’, Dillashaw shared that he is doubtful of Pimblett reaching the heights that he and the UFC desire. “He’s loving diabetes, said Dillashaw. “That’s like a recipe for just destroying your body. I guess there’s one thing if I’m looking at it,”
“They can promote him the right way and he might have what it takes to get into the higher echelons of the UFC, but if you keep that same work ethic he has now, then he’ll never be UFC champion.”
Although critical, Dillashaw would clarify that although he cannot envision Pimblett taking that step into the elite category with his current habits, the Scouser is still young and can correct his mistakes.
“You can’t have that down time like that,” Dillashaw continued. “You can’t get that fat and out of shape. It just proves the dedication you need to do what you do. I’m not trying to clown on him but that’s something he’s going to have to figure out with age, right? He’s young and this is a full-time job. This isn’t a job where you want to be a fighter. You have to be a fighter.”
Paddy Pimblett’s Weight Gain
To the amusement of many fans, ever since Pimblett’s entrance to the UFC, we have seen him balloon up in weight following his fights. We are presented on fight night with a thin, in shape Pimblett, then, in what seems like overnight we are greeted with someone almost unrecognizable.
Via his YouTube, we see Pimblett just following his win over Luigi Vendramini, tipping the scales at 202lbs, nearly 50lbs above his fight weight.
Pimblett will face American, Jordan Leavitt, on July 23, in the UFC’s return to the United Kingdom.
How do you see Paddy Pimblett’s third UFC octagon outing playing out?