Paddy Pimblett’s star is on the rise and nothing proves that better than a mural erected in your honor just days after speaking out about men’s mental health.
That’s what happened when SYKE, an artist, immortalized the Liverpool native including his in-cage quote that’s garnered a lot of attention.
Shortly after defeating Jordan Leavitt at UFC London on Saturday, Pimblett revealed that his friend had taken his own life and made a plea to normalize men speaking out about their mental health.
”I woke up on Friday morning at 4 a.m. to a message that one of me friends back home had killed himself. This was five hours before me weigh in. So, Ricky, lad, that’s for you,” Pimblett said on his post-fight interview. “There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk. Listen, if you’re a man and you’ve got 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. People would rather — I know I’d rather me mate cry on me shoulder — than go to his funeral next week. So, please, let’s get rid of this stigma, and men start talking.”
A portion of that quote was added to the mural.
The artist explained why he painted it.
“Was heading out for a paint today, before I left the house a got a message from a supporter of #andysmanclub asking if I could paint this somewhere, big ups to the man @theufcbaddy for bringing more attention to the fact that more and more men are commiting suicide, I’ve lost a few friends as I’m sure most people have. #itsoktotalk,” he wrote on Instagram. “We all have our demons to battle, it’s sometimes alot harder alone.”
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