UFC fighter Paddy Pimblett visits Oswestry coffee shop days after emotional victory message
A UFC fighter who emotionally dedicated his win at the weekend to a friend who died days earlier has delighted an Oswestry coffee shop by popping in for a brew.
Paddy Pimblett, also known as Paddy the Baddy, was photographed in Liar Liar, Oswestry, on Tuesday afternoon, just days after his tear-jerking message was shared around the world.
On Saturday the 27-year-old dedicated part of his win to a four-year-old boy who passed after battling a rare form of cancer called metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma alveolar.
In his post-fight interview he also spoke about a friend who had died recently.
"I woke up on Friday morning at 4am to a message that one of my friends, back home, had [died]. This was five hours before my weigh-in. So Ricky lad, that's for you," he said.
"But, 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 [suicide], please speak to someone, speak to anyone. People would rather... I know I'd rather my mate cry on my shoulder than go to his funeral next week.
"So, please, let's get rid of this stigma and men, start talking."
Off the back of his win on Saturday, Paddy the Baddy visited Oswestry and went into the Albion Hill coffee shop.
Owner Tom Jones said the UFC fighter was trying to "keep himself to himself" as he enjoyed some down time with his girlfriend, Laura Gregory.
"He was very friendly and his partner was very nice as well," said Tom.
"The reaction since [his visit] has created a bit of a buzz. At the time he wanted to be left on his own.
"The clientèle we had at the time weren't aware of who he was," which seemed to suit Paddy as visited the town as part of a getaway following last weekend's fight.
Tom added they didn't talk about the fight at London's O2 Arena, but said that Paddy happily posed for a photograph with him and staff member Shawn Melusi before leaving.
Paddy also shared a photo from his visit to Liar Liar to his 1.5 million Instagram followers, praising the coffee shop for its pink brioche buns in support of Breast Cancer Now.
Tom said that post has made a big difference to the shop.
"We have had a few famous people in before that have praised us but none got the kind of reaction that his did. We got hundreds of more followers and the reach on the post was crazy," he commented.
Liar Liar posted the photo of Paddy with Tom and Shawn to its Facebook page, leading to a number of jealous comments from the fighter's fans who were delighted to see him in Shropshire.
