WATCH: UFC Fighter Goes Viral for Emotional Post-Match Tribute to Friend Who Died By Suicide

Joe DePaoloJul 24th, 2022, 9:44 am
 

A UFC fighter has gone viral for his poignant, post-match tribute to a friend who died by suicide — a tribute which included an emotional appeal to men dealing with mental health struggles.

After his victory over Jordan Leavitt at UFC London on Saturday, Paddy Pimblett — known to his fans as “Paddy the Baddy” — opened up about the death of his friend Ricky. Pimblett received the news just one day before he entered the octagon.

“I woke up on Friday morning 4 a.m. to a message that one of my friends back home had killed himself,” Pimblett said. “This was five hours before my weigh-in. So Ricky, lad, that’s for you.”

Pimblett, a fan favorite, got an ovation from the crowd. He went on to deliver an emotional plea to men battling mental health struggles. — urging them to seek help.

“There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk,” Pimblett said. “Listen, if you’re a man and you’ve got weight on your shoulders, and you think the only way you can solve it is by killing yourself, please speak to someone! Speak to anyone! People would rather — I know I’d rather — my mate cry on my shoulder rather than go to his funeral next week. So please, let’s get rid of this stigma. And men, start talking!”

The video, as of this writing, has garnered more than six million views, and legions of combat sports fans saluted Pimblett for his comments:

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Joe DePaolo - Senior Editor

Joe DePaolo is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Email him here: joed@mediaite.com Follow him on Twitter: @joe_depaolo