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.
“Somebody sent me this picture of this motherf—-, Paddy Pimblett. Look how fat he is,” Moicano exclaimed on his YouTube channel. “I cannot believe how big he gets between fights. I’m not even joking. He fought Dec. 16, so less than three weeks my brother, and now he’s looking like an old retired fighter, my brother.
“It’s not only that time, it’s every time we see Paddy Pimblett. We see he fights, and he just becomes obese after the fights, and I think that’s going to be very detrimental for his career.”
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.
“If you’re training at 190, 185, too big in your training camp – remember, on fight day you can’t recover that much, and some people gas out,” Moicano continued. “They’re so worried about the weight, you’re training so much, and you’re not thinking about fighting, you’re just thinking about weight loss.”
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.
“You have to be in shape, otherwise, you’re messing with your whole system,” Moicano added. “You should take care of your health brother. As a lightweight walking with 190, it’s not like it’s muscle, the guy is round, my brother. Look at his face. That’s never going to be a good thing, to gain that much weight and get that crazy fluctuation in weight.
“He definitely should consider joining a diet program. We have to remember that after our careers, we’re going to be regular people just living. If you’re doing that as an athlete, imagine when you stop fighting because 100 percent you’re not going to be training like you’re training today.”
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.
