Paddy Pimblett and Dan Hooker may not be scheduled to fight each other, but that hasn’t stopped them from engaging in some trash talk that’s quickly turned ugly.

Pimblett started the hostilities with a crude swipe at Hooker while being quizzed about his next opponent Justin Gaethje’s age.

“People are saying about Gaethje’s age and that,” Pimblett told The MMA Guru. “Lad, he’s two years older than Dan Hooker. Dan Hooker couldn’t f*ckin’ grapple a r*pist off his ma.”

Needless to say that didn’t go down well with Hooker.

“It’s on site u fat b*tch,” Hooker wrote underneath a repost of Pimblett’s remark.

However, Hooker then managed to drag the conversation even deeper into the gutter by referencing a friend of Pimblett’s named Ricky who tragically committed suicide back in 2022.

“Ain’t said sh*t when we were face to face b*tch,” Hooker responded to Pimblett alongside an old video clip of him talking to the fighter and Ricky. “I thought we were mates, but you’re not a very good mate are you @PaddyTheBaddy RIP Ricky.”

“Thought we couldn’t be mates ‘cause I’m ranked above you,” Pimblett fired back. “You took a hypothetical joke about how bad your grappling is and responded by talking sh*t about my mate who committed suicide? Now that’s lowest of the low and on [sight] is fine by me you’re utter dogsh*t at fighting.”

After Ricky’s death, Pimblett was widely praised for speaking out about male mental health issues, urging men to speak out about their struggles rather than keeping it to themselves.

“There’s a stigma in this world that men can’t talk,” Pimblett had said during an emotional post-fight speech at the 02 Arena in London in July of 2022. “Listen, if you’re a man and you’ve got a 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.”