UFC London: Inside Paddy Pimblett's remarkable weight transformation

Before Paddy Pimblett starts this interview, he finishes off a ham and coleslaw wrap.

"It's 27g of protein, 31g of carbs, half a gram of fat and 309 calories," Pimblett tells BBC Sport.

It's a first-hand example of the meticulous planning which goes into his diet and weight cut before each fight.

But it hasn't always been this way for Pimblett, who fights American Jordan Leavitt at UFC London on Saturday.

Pimblett admits to losing weight unhealthily in the past - referring to an old video where he vomited in the cage following a win - and points to those experiences as being key to the transformation in his training and eating habits.

"I was a stupid idiot when I was younger. I didn't mature until I was 24, 25," says Pimblett.

"I used to tell everyone to shut up and say I knew best - my coaches, my mum my dad, my fiancee, my mates.

"That week [when he vomited] I had to lose 12kg (26lb) from Monday to Friday. I think I started my cut [before the weigh-in day] at 74.2kg (164lb) so I had 8.4kg (19lb) to lose to make weight overnight. And I did it. Very unhealthily, very unprofessionally, but I did it.

"Now I do it very healthily, like a professional. I have a nutritionist who is responsible for my body changing over the last couple of years.

"I used to be a fighter but now I'm an athlete as well, so that's all down to him, and my food prep team, my pro chef. Without them my life would be so much harder."

The UFC has taken steps in recent years to make weight cuts safer - by banning IV drips, which forces fighters to hydrate in a healthier way, and building the Performance Institute, which provides guidance for its athletes from professional health experts.

UFC fighters are recommended to lose no more than 8% of their body weight during fight week, according to their senior vice-president of athlete health and performance Jeff Novitsky. On fight night a fighter is recommended to stay within 10% of their weight class.

Two weeks ago Pimblett weighed 173lb, meaning he needed to lose 18lb to make the UFC lightweight limit of 156lb.

He now normally cuts up to 16lb during fight week, leaving no more than 10lb to be shed the night before weigh-ins.

Pimblett says because of his professional approach to cutting weight, the process has become "easier and safer" as he has got older.

Pimblett weighed as much as a light-heavyweight when he visited the US only two months ago

'I ate 11,000 calories in one day'

After making his professional debut 10 years ago, Pimblett - nicknamed 'the Baddy' - built up a record of 16 wins and three defeats fighting in the UK and Ireland before being signed by the UFC in 2021.

During his short spell in the promotion, Liverpudlian Pimblett has turned into one of the most popular fighters on the roster.

Pimblett's exciting striking and jiu-jitsu helped him record two first-round victories in two bouts, but it is his vibrant personality and drive to achieve success 'his way' which has captured the hearts of MMA fans.

One aspect of Pimblett's lifestyle which has attracted attention is the unrestricted diet he follows when he is not training for a fight.

Two days after his last win over Rodrigo Vargas in London in March, Pimblett consumed almost 11,000 calories - nearly 5,000 of which were from chocolate.

"What don't I like to eat?" he asks, rhetorically.

"Pizza, pasta, Chinese, Thai food. I love burgers. I love a Nandos and salt and pepper chicken are my favourite scrans. I just love food.

"But chocolate's one of my big ones. And desserts. I love desserts."

Pimblett's diet means his weight fluctuates much more than the majority of MMA fighters.

Only two months ago he weighed as much as 205lb - the limit for UFC light-heavyweights, three divisions above lightweight.

Pimblett was training in the US when he got on the scales.

"I took my boxers off and got on and I was 205," he says. "And that's when it hit me: 'Paddy, you're fat here, son. You need to sort this out.'

"And then you get on the diet. But with me there's no in between. Anything I do, whether it's partying, gambling, training, eating, it's go hard or go home. I've always had that sort of mentality; I can't help it."

'People fat-shame me'

Pimblett's lifestyle has attracted criticism from some parts of the MMA world, with former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw saying: "That's like a recipe for destroying your body.

"If you keep that same work ethic that he has now, he'll never be a champion. You can't have that down time like that. You can't get that fat."

Pimblett says he will prove his doubters wrong.

"People have doubted me for years. At the minute, I'm not in the rankings, I'm fighting once every four months or something, so I can have a good blowout if I want," he says.

"People fat shame me. It's my life and I'll do whatever I want.

"I'm gonna be UFC champion and I'm going to prove all these stereotypes wrong."

Pimblett says victory over 27-year-old American Leavitt on Saturday will take him a step closer to achieving his goal.

"I'm going to be one of the biggest sports stars in the world," says Pimblett.

"Never mind MMA, I'm gonna be like your [Floyd] Mayweathers, LeBrons [James], Tiger Woods, your [Conor] McGregors.

"I've visualised it; I've seen all this coming. I'm going to knock this crab out on the 23rd of July and then it is going to shoot up another level of stardom."

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