Paddy Pimblett was ‘Artful Dodger’ earlier than ‘Baddy’ UFC fame and has appearing dream

It’s The Hard Knock Life for Paddy Pimblett, who has been hitting all the high notes so far in the UFC.

The Liverpool lightweight made it 6-0 in the company in July as he brought the curtain down on King Green in Manchester, earning himself the No.15 spot in the charts.

And having penned a new contract, courtesy of the UFC’s own Daddy Warbucks, president Dana White, all of Pimblett’s Tomorrows will be taken care of for the foreseeable future.

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While the 155lb crown is his first goal, Pimblett, on the back of his BBC reality show with best pal Molly McCann, is already planning for life outside the cage – and perhaps ‘The Baddy Show: The Musical’.

Having got under the skin of many of his opponents with his crowd-pleasing shenanigans, Pimblett has revealed why he feels so comfortable under the bright lights, saying: “When I was younger, like when I was like seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12 or something like that, I used to (act).

What do you think of Paddy Pimblett’s chances of making it as an actor? Let us know in the comments section below



Pimblett has revealed why he feels so comfortable under the bright lights

“I’d go to a drama school, like a drama club. I played Daddy Warbucks in Annie and the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist. I’ve been on stage before when I was a little kid and acted. I’m comfortable in front of a camera, I don’t mind it, and I would definitely like to go into acting.”

While going from the octagon to octaves in the West End may be a big leap to make, many MMA stars have made the more natural move to action movies, with former two-division champion Conor McGregor having recently starred in the Roadhouse remake.

And perhaps “I’ll be back, lad” will one day be impersonated with a Scouse accent as much as an Austrian one. When asked what screen role he would love to take on, Pimblett added: “When I was growing up, I used to love Arnold Schwarzenegger. Commando was one of my favourite films – ‘Bennett!’.



Paddy Pimblett is a megastar in the UFC these days
(Image: Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

“I used to love Commando a lot and then a couple of his other films, like Running Man, Total Recall and Predator, stuff like that. I used to love all of them. So, it would probably be an Arnie one (film) or like Rambo or Rocky.”

Without doubt, being a dad is Pimblett’s most important role, after he and wife Laura were blessed with twin girls Betsy and Margot in April.

‘The Baddy’, who wants to face No.10-ranked Renato Moicano next, said: “I might not be able to fight again this year and then next year, I’ll be honest, the babies are one on April 17, so I’ll be trying to get a fight in before their birthday so I can enjoy it with them.

“I haven’t been able to spend time with my kids as much. After their first birthday, I’m gonna spend that summer with my wife, my kids and my family.”

Paddy Pimblett was speaking in association with AceOdds. For more information visit www.aceodds.com

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