UFC star Paddy Pimblett says he got “goosebumps” after seeing a Dundee mural inspired by a post-fight speech he gave about men’s mental health.
Pimblett revealed he learned a friend had taken his own life ahead of his latest outing on Saturday.
The Liverpudlian urged men not to suffer in silence in a heartfelt interview after his victory over American Jordan Leavitt at London’s O2 Arena.
Dundee artist’s mural shared with 1.4m followers
Videos of the speech went viral as hundreds of thousands of people offered their support to the 27-year-old.
Following that, Dundee artist Symon Mathieson – better known as Syke – paid tribute to his plea with a mural in an underpass at Monymusk Park in Dundee.
Paddy ‘The Baddy’ then shared a picture of it with his 1.4 million Instagram followers.
The post has since been liked nearly 200,000 times.
I’ve lost people to suicide and saw what Paddy said after his fight, and it connected with me
Syke told The Courier he was happy to see his work being shared but “it’s his message that’s more important”.
He said: “It’s extremely important for people in the public eye to highlight mental health issues, as they are looked up to by the younger generation the have more of an influence and reach.
“I’ve lost people to suicide and saw what Paddy said after his fight, and it connected with me.
“Then I was contacted by a supporter of Andy’s Man Club suggesting it would be good to have it painted somewhere.
“Feedback from the piece has been insane. I’ve had a couple of discussions with people I don’t know on my social media since, who say they don’t feel like talking helps; along with my followers I’ve tried to send those people in the right direction to get help.”
What did Paddy Pimblett say after bout?
In his now iconic speech, Pimblett said: “I want to dedicate this fight to little baby Lee, the little warrior. More of a fighter than any of us will ever be.
“But also, I woke up on Friday morning at 4am to a message that one my friends back home had killed themselves. This was five hours before my weigh-in.
“So Ricky lad, that’s for you. 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. I know I would rather have my mate cry on my shoulder than go to his funeral next week. So please, let’s get rid of this stigma. Men start talking.”
Fans of Syke have posted their praise for the artwork online.
One person wrote: “Wow amazing as always, probably could do with a few more around our city.”
Another said: “Brilliant work, I didn’t know who this guy was [until] I seen this, Paddy is a hero of mine now.”
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