Who is Paddy The Baddy?
Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett, 27, is on a three-three fight win streak, in the UFC’s ocean-deep lightweight division. The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion (as was Conor McGregor before him) has earned three finishes in a row in the big show, winning a performance bonus in each. Only one opponent even made it to Round 2.
“The Baddy” has ten years pro experience. He earned a black belt in jiu-jitsu under head coach of Next Generation MMA Liverpool Paul Rimmer. And he’s got something less quantifiable, but perhaps more important to reaching the greatest heights in the sport - star power.
His fight style is not just fan-friendly, it’s fan-ecstatic. In an ever more obese world, his weight balloons from 156 to 200. This doubtless appealing to a demographic that can project themselves onto Pimblett - THAT’S ME, with a little training, and when I start seeing red bro, bodies start falling. And there’s his haircut.
It’s called a Ket Wig in his home city of Liverpool. That it to say, it’s what hair would look like if instead of getting a haircut you used the money to buy Ketamine.
“We’ve got our own style in 'Pool," he explained. "The rest of the world can laugh all you want, I don’t give a flying f***.”
Paddy The Baddy vs. The USMC (Not All The Devil Dogs, Just 10)
In this video, Paddy the Baddy joins the United States Marine Core Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) at Camp Pendleton to see how hard The Marines train, teach jiu-jitsu, and talk about men’s mental heath issues.
MCMAP is a combat system developed by the USMC. It aims to combine existing and new hand-to-hand and close-quarters combat techniques, with morale and team-building functions, and instruction in the warrior ethos.
The video opens with Pimblett recapping the day, then moves to an 8:00 am combat conditioning class, and finally gets to a jiu-jitsu session. The Baddy teaches some submission fundamentals, and then when it’s time roll, it’s a Shark Drill. Every time he taps a Marine, a new one steps in.
When there physical training is over, there is a Q&A, where Pimblett talks frankly about a variety of topics, including mental health. Then he is given a Challenge Coin and an “Attitude is Everything” plaque made from an ammunition box, and signed by the Marines in attendance.
Then there the sincerest thanks extended, and it’s off to the next adventure.