Paddy Pimblett was probably expecting a fun sparring session with TikTok influencer Dean Alex. Instead, he walked away with fans mocking his defense, replaying clips frame-by-frame, and joking that a streamer had somehow discovered flaws in one of the UFC’s biggest lightweight stars.

The entire situation began when one of Dean Alex’s followers challenged him online with a simple dare.

“Bet you won’t fight Paddie the Baddie,” the fan wrote.

Surprisingly, the influencer agreed, finally meeting up with Paddy Pimblett at Next Generation MMA in Liverpool for a sparring session that rapidly turned chaotic. ‘The Baddy’ appeared relaxed, almost playful, throwing with little intent while allowing the influencer to exchange freely.

But things got messy when Dean Alex started landing a few stiff shots directly on the UFC fighter’s face, forcing the title lightweight contender to respond more seriously. And well, that response came violently.

‘The Baddy’ cracked Alex with a spinning back elbow to the torso, followed by numerous punches to the head that visibly drained the influencer. Seconds later, Alex dashed outside the gym and vomited out the window, while the video went viral on social media.

Instead of focusing on the finale, people were immediately drawn to the events that led up to it. Many fans took the clip as evidence that Paddy Pimblett surely lacks on defense. “Paddy literally got rocked 3 times by an influencer,” one fan wrote, while another joked, “Found Paddy’s weakness, really slow, wide, looping hooks.”

Others pointed at Paddy Pimblett’s defensive openings, claiming the UFC lightweight looked surprisingly hittable even against a non-professional. A fan wrote, “Paddy getting caught by a fat dork imagine what Ilia Topuria would’ve done.” More chimed in with comments such as “Paddy was getting piece’d up lowkey” and “Lost to some bum off the street.”

Still, plenty of fans defended him, claiming ‘The Baddy’ was clearly holding back and trying not to seriously hurt a content creator. A fan wrote, “He putting in 0 effort and no swinging back.” Another added, “He literally let him do that.”

“Do you just want pro fighters to beat tf out of streamers? Everyone is going to scream he is an a– like when Sean Strickland did it to Sneako,” another user replied, referencing backlash that followed Sean Strickland after his infamous sparring session.

So, it surely looks like while many believe Paddy Pimblett literally got checked by an influencer, many believe that ‘The Baddy’ was simply having fun. After all, when it’s about sparring an influencer, he is willing to take things lightly. But the same cannot be said when it comes to the fights that truly matter.

Paddy Pimblett claims he started UFC 329 training camp while still injured

That is the difference between internet sparring clips and real UFC pressure. Paddy Pimblett may joke around with influencers at the gym, but the version entering UFC 329 is dealing with a very different reality.

After suffering the first loss of his UFC career against Justin Gaethje earlier this year, ‘The Baddy’ has already started preparing for another significant lightweight showdown despite admitting his body still is not fully right.

‘The Baddy’ is now set to face Benoît Saint Denis during International Fight Week in Las Vegas, which may immediately put him back in contention. However, Paddy Pimblett stated that this training camp began earlier than usual since he is still dealing with lingering issues from the Gaethje fight.

“Still feel like I’m getting back into it,” he said on his YouTube channel. “I don’t feel as sharp as I need to be. That’s just why we’ve started camp a bit earlier.

“Still got a couple of little niggles, couple of injuries. So, hopefully [over] the next few weeks, they go down and I can focus more on my training.”

And considering what he absorbed against ‘The Highlight,’ this should not come as a surprise. Pimblett took 144 significant blows during that loss, which is an absurd number when compared to the damage he took across most of his earlier UFC run combined. In his previous seven bouts combined, he only took 52 more shots than what he ate during the Gaethje fight alone.

Yet, instead of disappearing after the setback, he returned to camp, hoping the injuries would settle down before preparations intensified. So, while fans debate whether an influencer exposed flaws in his game, ‘The Baddy’ is already focused on a much bigger problem: proving that he still belongs among the lightweight elite after finally tasting defeat.