Home hero Paddy Pimblett issued a bare-faced message to his critics as the Liverpool fighter made weight ahead of his lightweight showdown with American rival Jordan Leavitt at UFC London this weekend.
Brash brawler Pimblett tipped the scales at 156lbs – right on the lightweight limit – in the UK capital on Friday, as he prepares to take on Leavitt in their UFC Fight Night clash at the O2 Arena on Saturday night.
Much has been made of Pimblett’s wild weight gain as he balloons in size between fights, although the man dubbed ‘Paddy the Baddy’ fired a barb to the keyboard critics after stepping off the scales.
“Everyone who tried to fat-shame me or said I would miss weight or f***ing pull out – kiss my a**,” said the 27-year-old as he turned and bared his backside to the cameras.
Former Cage Warriors champion Pimblett is aiming to make it three wins from three inside the UFC Octagon this weekend.
The colorful lightweight contender won a wild debut fight in the promotion with a first-round knockout of Luigi Vendramini in Las Vegas last September, before delighting UK fans with a submission stoppage of Rodrigo Vargas in London back in March.
This time around the 18-3 Liverpudlian meets Las Vegas native Leavitt, the former Dana White’s Contender Series participant who is 10-1 overall in his career and has three wins from four fights in the UFC.
Leavitt is known for his own Octagon antics, celebrating victories by performing the splits and twerking inside the cage.
The American has vowed to do the same in London if he shocks the home crowd – although Pimblett has threatened to perform a sex act on his rival, should he win.
“He’s talking all sorts of crazy s**t. He’s an absolute crab,” the Brit said of his opponent.
“He can’t throw a punch to save his life, and he’s trying to talk s**t. It’s mad… I’d say that my nan is dead, and she’d finish him. Do you know what I mean?”
Pimblett then added his vulgar threat, saying: “I’m going to tea bag him, man.”
“I’m going to tea bag him like it’s Modern Warfare 2… I’ll squat as close to his head as I possibly can without the ref shouting at me. I’ll just squat up and down like I’m on Modern Warfare 2.”
Top of the bill as the UFC returns to London for its second event this year is the heavyweight match-up between local favorite Tom Aspinall and American Curtis Blaydes.
Rising star Aspinall delighted the home crowd last time out in the UK capital when he submitted Russia’s Alexander Volkov in the first round of their main event.