Paddy Pimblett has lashed out after fellow fighter Dan Hooker made shocking comments about the UFC star's dead friend.
In the first numbered event of 2026, Pimblett faces the biggest moment of his career as he will fight Justin Gaethje for the interim UFC lightweight title.
The decision to hand the popular MMA star a shot at the title frustrated some fans who felt that fellow contendor Arman Tsarukyan was a more worthy challenger given his place in the lightweight rankings.
Ahead of the fight, Pimblett addressed these fans, raising questions over Tsarukyan's latest win over Dan Hooker, claiming the Kiwi fighter couldn't grapple in a brutal comment.
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Clearly annoyed by the comments, Hooker responded to his fellow lightweight with a controversial reference to Pimblett's close friend who died by suicide in 2022, prompting a further response from an outraged Pimblett.
Addressing Hooker's performance against Tsarukyan in their bout in November during an interview with The MMA Guru, Pimblett controversially claimed: "Dan Hooker couldn't grapple a f**king rapist off his mum. You know what I mean."
Reacting to the comments, Hooker wrote: "Ain’t said sh*t when we were face to face b*****. I thought we were mates, but you’re not a very good mate are you @PaddyTheBaddy. RIP Ricky."
Hooker's final words in the post referenced Pimblett's close friend Ricky took his own life just hours before his victory over Jordan Leavitt at UFC London in 2022.
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Pimblett has since claimed that he and others with platforms as big as his need to speak out more about men's mental health to prevent others losing their lives.
Therefore, he was clearly furious to see Hooker making a sarcastic reference to Ricky's death, as he hit back with another post on X.
He wrote: "Thought we couldn’t be mates cause I’m ranked above you. You took a hypothetical joke about how bad your grappling is and responded by talking s*** about my mate who committed suicide?
"Now thats lowest of the low and on site is fine by me you’re utter dogs*** at fighting."
Following his submission loss to Tsarukyan, Hooker will face France's Benoit Saint-Denis in Sydney, Australia at UFC 325 just one week after Pimblett's fight with Gaethje.
Although Pimblett and Hooker have previously appeared to be friendly, they've both made it clear that the next time they see each other won't end well, potentially setting up a future fight once they've settle their own bouts in the coming weeks.
Topics: Paddy Pimblett, Dan Hooker, UFC, MMA
Ben McCrum