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Britain’s Patrick “Paddy” Pimblett competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight division, a mixed martial arts sport with hardly any rules during the fight.
It is a demanding discipline that mixes boxing, wrestling, taekwondo, judo with movements from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing and Muay Thai.
An extreme and hard sport.
That is why the request of this 27-year-old professional fighter who, following winning a fight over the weekend, addressed all the men following dedicate victory to a close friend who took off life.
“I received a message on Friday at 4 in the morning. One of my friends, Ricky, committed suicide in my hometown, in Liverpool. The stigma that men cannot talk …”, he said emotionally at the end of the fight.
image source, Getty Images
Despite his victory, he burst into tears.
Pimblett urged the men not to suffer in silence and care regarding your mental health in a direct and inspiring message.
“Listen, if you’re a man and you have too much on you… And if you think the only way you can fix this is to kill yourself, please: talk to someone.”
“talk to anyone. People will help you,” the star continued.
The reaction of the live viewers revealed the impact of his speech at that very moment.
“I would rather see my friend crying on my shoulder than have to go to his funeral next weekhe exclaimed.
“Let’s get rid of the stigma. Men need to start talking.”
image source, Getty Images
The fighter left the octagon in tears following his emotional speech.
Pimblett explained that following hearing the news, he had to stay strong and go to the fight “not just for himself but for his friends and for Ricky’s family, who are suffering at home more than me“.
“I had to focus on the fight. I had to block my emotions. When I got the news on Friday I was crying,” he said.
“I wondered why I was preparing for a fight and the reason is that I did it to get here and launch this message,” he said in an interview with BT Sports.
image source, Getty Images
The UFC is one of the most violent competitions in the world.
“Women can talk and men don’t because they think they will look weak. But no, you are stronger than anyone if you are able to go to your friend and tell him how you feel.”
He also recounted that there was a time in his career when things went wrong.
He had broken his hand and thought of “doing something drastic”.
It was a very moving speech that clearly resonated with those watching the fight from home.
“The interview with Paddy Pimblett following his fight over the weekend can only have helped raise awareness regarding how important it is for people to open up and talk if they’re having trouble with something, and it was a reminder, once once more, that it’s okay to talk,” mental health expert Pete White told the local newspaper Yorkshire Evening Post.
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