Paddy Pimblett scoffs at future peace offering with Ariel Helwani: ‘He tried to ruin my career’
UFC lightweight contender, Paddy Pimblett has shot the idea of a future rekindling with mixed martial arts journalist, Ariel Helwani, claiming the Canadian reporter “tried to ruin” his career in the build up to his UFC 282 fight with Jared Gordon last December.
Pimblett, yet to crack the top-15 of the official lightweight rankings under the promotion’s banner, most recently featured in the co-main event of UFC 282 back in December of last year, landing a close, debated decision win over the above-mentioned, Gordon.
However, in the lead-up to the co-headlining slot, Pimblett and Canadian mixed martial arts journalist, Helwani were embroiled in a heated spat, with Pimblett claiming that the latter had attempted to use fighters to earn money and revenue for himself in the form of non-paid interviews.
With the verbal back-and-forth spilling across fight week and the days after Paddy Pimblett’s fourth Octagon victory, the two have yet to reconcile following their public spat. And according to former Cage Warriors featherweight champion, Pimblett, he has no interest in potentially mending bridges in the future.
“The Ariel (Helwani) stuff, people turned on me for telling the truth about Ariel, lad, it’s crazy,” Paddy Pimblett told Severe MMA. “I’ve got all that [receipts]. I’ve got all that on me phone. This ‘receipts’ thing is the maddest shout ever… At the time, I actually considered Ariel a friend. Obviously, a I was never a friend to him. He saw me as a pound sign.”
“The annoying thing about that was people saying to me,’You’ve just been bullying Ariel and you’ve started an anti-bullying charity.’ My charity isn’t an anti-bullying charity, for one. It’s just a foundation to help people, Two, I haven’t bullied Ariel at all… I said this the other day, I shouldn’t have called him names. I shouldn’t have. …I shouldn’t have said nasty words. Everything else was the truth. He tried to assassinate my character.” (Transcribed by MMA News)
Paddy Pimblett expected to miss 2023 UFC schedule
Expected to remain sidelined for the remainder of this year, PImblett claimed he would be “lucky” to compete in 2023, having undergone a surgical procedure to address an ankle injury suffered in his controversial judging win over Gordon.
