Dillashaw claimed Pimblett’s post-fight weight gain means he’ll never become a UFC champion.
Paddy Pimblett remains one of the most hyped prospects in the UFC. He retained this status thanks to a submission win over Kazula Vargas at UFC London in March.
Pimblett is now booked to face Jordan Leavitt on July 23. Pimblett will be facing Leavitt in the lightweight division. However, based on recent pictures of Pimblett it’s safe to say that his walk around weight is way more than 155 lbs.
Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw has taken exception to images of Pimblett at a recent Cage Warriors show. Based on that evidence Dillashaw claimed that the British fighter would never be a champion in the UFC.
“They can promote him the right way and do all this good stuff, and he’s got some stuff to grow and get into the higher echelons of the UFC, but if you keep that same work ethic that he has now, he’ll never be a champion,” Dillashaw said on “The Schaub Show” (ht MMA Fighting).
“You can’t have that down time like that. You can’t get that fat. You can’t get out of shape. It just kind of proves the dedication to what you need to do. And no, I’m not trying to pound on him or anything, but that’s something I think he’s going to have to figure out with age, right? He’s young. … It’s a full-time job, bro. This isn’t just wanting to be a fighter – you have to be a fighter.”
Pimblett got word of Dillashaw’s criticism and then let everyone know he’s not a fan of veteran fighter’s views.
Is this fella messin @TJDillashaw used to sell tee shirts with his fat face on it saying “fat Tyler” on when he came out of camp don’t forget ur own past u sausage Cheating little juice head wud never have won a belt without them steroids u fucking mushroom https://t.co/64YL2yOG82
— Paddy The Baddy (@theufcbaddy) June 1, 2022
“Cheating little juice head,” wrote Pimblett. “You would never have won a belt without them steroids you fucking mushroom.”
Dillashaw beat Renan Barao, on short notice, to claim the UFC bantamweight title in 2014. He defended the title versus Joe Soto and then Barao before dropping the title to Dominick Cruz in 2016.
After that razor thing decision loss to Cruz, Dillashaw beat Raphael Assuncao and Jon Lineker to earn a title shot against new champion—and former teammate—Cody Garbrandt.
Dillashaw TKO’d Garbrandt to win back the belt and then KO’d Garbrandt in an immediate rematch.
In 2019 Dillashaw unsuccessfully challenged Henry Cejudo for the UFC flyweight title. After that fight he tested positive for the banned substance EPO. He served a two-year suspension for that infraction and returned to the Octagon last July.
In his first fight back he took a close split decision over Cory Sandhagen.
Pimblett is 2-0 in his young UFC career. He’s a former featherweight and lightweight champion with the Cage Warriors promotion and has an overall record of 18-3.