‘Give me my account back you LIZARDS’: UFC sensation Pimblett attacks Instagram over banned account after explosive debut (VIDEO)
True to his word, Paddy Pimblett made an instant impact on his UFC debut in Las Vegas on Saturday – and later used the opportunity to call out his nemesis: social media giant Instagram.
Former Cage Warriors champion Pimblett promised fireworks as he made his long-awaited arrival in the UFC octagon, and backed that up with a spectacular first-round finish of Luigi Vendramini in their lightweight clash.
The Liverpool fighter was forced to weather an early storm from Vendramini, being caught with some heavy shots by the Brazilian before bouncing back to finish the fight with a barrage of blows inside the last minute of the opening round.
Paddy Pimblett. What a debut. #UFCVegas36 pic.twitter.com/ofm8yxyhsD
— Hamez (@HamezMMA) September 4, 2021
Pimblett’s larger-than-life personality has already earned him an army of fans, but also no shortage of haters for his outspoken, devil-may-care attitude.
It has also come to the attention of Instagram, where the fighter’s account was blocked several weeks ago after he responded to someone who was “giving him grief” in a row about English football.
“He must have reported me like a little b*tch,” Pimblett told MiddleEasy back in August.
Pimblett later took to Twitter, demanding a resolution to the issue.
“What on earth is going on here? I have a fight in 3 weeks that I need to promote and you aren’t even giving me a response,” fumed the Scouse star known as ‘Paddy the Baddy’.
How am I still waiting to get back onto my @instagram what on earth is going on here? I have a fight in 3 weeks that I need to promote and yous arnt even giving me a response?! @ufc @UFCEurope @UFCFightPass do my employers fancy helping me out here??? pic.twitter.com/eHkzYSVrmx
— Paddy Pimblett (@PaddyTheBaddy) August 11, 2021
Another account has since sprung up under Pimblett’s name which has seen astounding growth since his headline-making UFC debut, currently boasting in excess of 250,000 followers.
“Official Instagram for the @paddythebaddy which has been disabled at 158k followers for being trolled and insta have let the trolls have win!” reads the bio for the account.
Pimblett, though, is clearly still fuming at Instagram over his original suspension.
In a post-fight interview with ESPN’s Megan Olivi on Saturday, Pimblett called the social media company “lizards.”
When asked by Olivi who he would like to call out next, the 26-year-old Liverpudlian replied: “Anyone who wants it.
“I’m not really calling anyone out. The only thing I want to call out is a company, Instagram, give me my account back, you lizards,” added Pimblett – much to the amusement of Olivi.
— No Context Scouse (@NoContextScouse) September 5, 2021
Pimblett will hope that his sensational UFC debut and rising-star status will add some clout to his demands for a resolution from Instagram – but just don’t expect him to tone things down, even if he does get his account back.