MMA Fight: Paddy Pimblett, an MMA fighter, said in a statement to Sky Sports that “those with a platform should be attempting to help,” and that he has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support after speaking out about men’s mental health in the wake of a friend’s suicide.
At London’s O2 Arena last month, the 27-year-old dedicated his victory over Jordan Leavitt to his deceased buddy Ricky, whose passing the Merseysider had learned about hours before the pre-fight weigh-in.
Pimblett said after his win in the second round: “There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk. Listen, if you’re a man and you’ve got a 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.”
Talking to Sky Sports on Tuesday, Pimblett said: “I feel people in a position like me with a platform should be trying to help people.
“It’s nice to be nice and me grabbing the mic and saying that on interview cost nothing. Other people are too concerned about their own image and money in the bank to do stuff like that.
“I have had loads of messages, people saying ‘without you, I wouldn’t even be here now.
“Messages like that will mean more than any win ever will, someone saying, ‘I didn’t take my life last night because of something you’ve said.
“Never in my life did I want to do that. I only desired to engage in combat. I enjoy punching someone, getting punched myself, and entertaining others at the same time.
“But I simply thought I’d bring up that there are bigger issues in the world that aren’t being addressed. There is a reason other than just to fight.
“It’s not just Ricky, multiple lads in Liverpool have taken their own life. Some that I know, some that I don’t know. It’s something I have seen a lot lately. You see it all over social media. It hit me like a ton of bricks when it happened with Ricky.
“I hadn’t seen him for two or three months. I am not going to sit here and say he was one of my best mates but he was an acquaintance I had and if I saw him out and about we’d stand there for 15 minutes talking.”
Additionally, Pimblett used the occasion to apologise for past “dumb stuff” he had shared on social media.
He added: “I have been abused several times in the past [on social media] and I have given it back. Looking back now, I think, ‘why would you even get involved in that?’. I have said stupid stuff I regret.
“For anything I have said in the past, I am sorry. It was me being a daft kid. As you get older you think, ‘what were you up to, lad?’.
“I never grew up until was 24, 25. I think I have grown up more in the last 10 days than in the past 27 years.”
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