UFC lightweight star Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett has cleared the air on his viral gym altercation with Denis Frimpong.
Pimblett choked Frimpong unconscious in a gym smoker in January and was subsequently plastered across MMA social media. The video drew controversy as Pimblett didn’t release his chokehold when Frimpong tapped, almost causing a brawl in the Manchester MMA gym.
Frimpong later defended Pimblett’s actions, calling the fight a “straightener scrap” and saying that he expected Pimblett to try and put him unconscious.
In light of fans digging into the drama, Pimblett released his statement, hopefully putting any speculation on the interaction to bed.
Paddy Pimblett gives backstory to viral Denis Frimpong fight
On his YouTube channel on January 31, Pimblett gave a whole backstory to the Frimpong altercation. It began with Frimpong’s appearance on OKTAGON MMA’s ‘OKTAGON Challenge’ show, similar to the UFC’s Ultimate Fighter, where Frimpong picked on Pimblett’s teammates.
Nothing was off limits for Frimpong, who insulted dead relatives and remarked that he’d spit on his opponent’s unconscious body and their coaches. Despite all this, Frimpong was choked out by George Staines in the season final, but his remarks didn’t sit right with Pimblett.
“A year went by. . . Then he had a fight just before Christmas,” Pimblett explained how he thought Frimpong won a mismatched fight. “… My [strength and conditioning] coach Paul Reed [commented on the fight] saying, ‘This is embarrassing.’
“And Denis put back to him, ‘You stick to S&C, old man. Leave the fighters to fight.’ That was it. I went at him. I couldn’t help it.”
Pimblett allegedly offered to fight Frimpong at his gym before going on holiday. The fight didn’t materialize, but Frimpong continued the trash talk as soon as Pimblett was away, which rubbed the Liverpudlian star the wrong way.
Pimblett provided screenshots of messages with Frimpong trying to get out of the fight, claiming he didn’t want to get injured for free. Eventually, they settled on a date and time.
“[…] We both agreed we don’t stop until someone’s unconscious,” Pimblett clarified. “Taps don’t count, quitting to strikes don’t count, we just go until someone’s out cold.”
Pimblett explained that he offered to go pure striking with Frimpong after finishing him on the ground, to which Frimpong replied, “No. I don’t want to go again.” And the beef was settled.
Paddy Pimblett’s rumored next UFC opponent sends ‘The Baddy’ a backhanded compliment
Pimblett has hinted that his next opponent will be Michael Chandler. As for a date, Pimblett has teased UFC 314. Despite the fan hype, no more announcements have been made about this fight.
Speaking to MMA Junkie Radio, Chandler praised Pimblett as “one of the good ones in the sport,” coldly remarking, “I don’t need to hate somebody to separate them from consciousness.”