The past twelve months have been hard for UFC lightweight star Paddy Pimblett. From being one of the most popular in the promotion, he has become one of the most hated among fans. A controversial unanimous decision victory over Jared Gordon, which many felt was a robbery, and his belligerent reaction to the decision being questioned by fans and analysts was perhaps the beginning of his downfall among fans.

A subsequent interview with Dana White where the duo chewed out MMA journalist Ariel Helwani only made him more unpopular and brought ‘Paddy the Baddy’ to where he is today. While the fighter has been keeping a brave face in public, it seems this has taken a toll on him, which almost led him to withdraw from his upcoming fight.

Paddy Pimblett’s coach wanted him out of UFC 304

Paddy Pimblett is coming off a decision victory over fan-favorite Tony Ferguson (another reason for his nosediving popularity). Up next, he will face another fan-favorite veteran, the fighter formerly known as Bobby Green (who has legally changed his name to ‘King Green’) on UFC 304 on home turf in England.

However, the Englishman revealed that he has been depressed and facing mental health issues because of personal problems and all the flak he has caught recently. In so bad shape mentally was he that his coach even nearly had him pull out of his UFC 304 clash against Green. “About five or six weeks ago my coach was thinking about pulling me out you know what I mean, where mentally I just weren’t there. And I said a couple of weeks ago ‘I think this going to be the worst fight camp of me life,'” Pimblett told Sky News.

“And up until like two or three weeks ago, it was. I really don’t know [how I turned it around]. I’ve got that attitude like that positivity where I can turn it around, and you know how confident I am. So when me coach thought about pulling me out I was like ‘No. No chance,'” he stated further.

He, however, was opposed to the idea and immediately shot it down. Looking back on his mental health episode, the Liverpool native felt that his generally upbeat nature, combined with the supreme self-confidence he has in himself, led him to overcome it and come back stronger. To the point that he claimed he hadn’t felt stronger in his life.

Pimblett comes back stronger than he ever was

Paddy Pimblett thankfully was able to quickly turn around his mental health, and went from having the worst training camp of his life to one of the best. The Englishman revealed that the past two or three weeks of his camp have been fantastic, with him feeling like he was in the best shape of his life.

“Then the last couple of weeks, hard sparing in the gym, I’ve just been absolutely on fire, hitting pads. I’m on fire, I’ve never been so strong. I done me fight simulation and standing conditioning the other day lad. Three five minute rounds and in the third round I felt stronger than I did in the first round,” he said.

This, of course, means that Pimblett is raring to fight Green, whom he is confident he can defeat. Green, of course, is currently ranked #15 in the stacked 155-pound division, and a win over the American will let Pimblett get to the next level and become a ranked fighter. After which, he can make his way up to an eventual title shot, which is his ultimate goal.

Do you think Pimblett will be able to continue his winning streak and score a win at UFC 304? Drop your predictions for the event in the comments below.