Paddy Pimblett may have secured a victory in clear fashion over Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 (albeit a Tony Ferguson that many consider to be far past his prime), but fellow UFC lightweight fighter Renato Moicano doesn’t think that gives Pimblett a free pass for what he considers to be egregious weight gains by the 29-year-old English fighter between fights.
âSomebody sent me this picture of this motherf—-, Paddy Pimblett. Look how fat he is,â Moicano exclaimed on his YouTube channel. âI cannot believe how big he gets between fights. Iâm not even joking. He fought Dec. 16, so less than three weeks my brother, and now heâs looking like an old retired fighter, my brother.
âItâs not only that time, itâs every time we see Paddy Pimblett. We see he fights, and he just becomes obese after the fights, and I think thatâs going to be very detrimental for his career.â
Pimblett, who typically competes in the 155-pound Lightweight division in the UFC, has stated in the past that he can bulk up to 200 pounds when he’s not cutting weight. Moicano believes that such drastic weight fluctuations will only be deleterious to Pimblett’s performance in the long run.
âIf youâre training at 190, 185, too big in your training camp â remember, on fight day you canât recover that much, and some people gas out,â Moicano continued. âTheyâre so worried about the weight, youâre training so much, and youâre not thinking about fighting, youâre just thinking about weight loss.â
While Pimblett is able to get away with the irregular weight gain and weight loss pattern now because he’s a professional fighter, Moicano believes that once his career is over, Pimblett’s diet will be difficult to control.
âYou have to be in shape, otherwise, youâre messing with your whole system,â Moicano added. âYou should take care of your health brother. As a lightweight walking with 190, itâs not like itâs muscle, the guy is round, my brother. Look at his face. Thatâs never going to be a good thing, to gain that much weight and get that crazy fluctuation in weight.
âHe definitely should consider joining a diet program. We have to remember that after our careers, weâre going to be regular people just living. If youâre doing that as an athlete, imagine when you stop fighting because 100 percent youâre not going to be training like youâre training today.â
Pimblett has addressed concerns over his ballooning up in weight after fights, chastising people for “fat shaming him” and remarking that he’d rather be “fat and happy than ripped and miserable 24/7.” He’s even jokingly referred to himself as “Paddy the Fatty” during his weight gain intervals, and has even shared his favorite fast food binges, which can verge on 8,000 calories for a single meal.
What do you think of the fact that Renato Moicano ‘cannot believe how big’ Paddy Pimblett gets between UFC fights? Do you think Paddy should temper his caloric intake splurges between fights or has he earned the right to eat whatever he wants when he’s not fighting on account of how hard he’s worked to make weight for fights in the past? Let us know in the comments.