Sports Personality of the Year awards: Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett arrives alongside fiancée

Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett has arrived on the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year red carpet wearing jeans and a gilet alongside his glamorous childhood sweetheart.

The rising UFC star sported his usual boyish blond fringe and grinned alongside fiancee Laura Gregory, who wowed in a plunging black minidress.

The couple are attending the event as spectators – Pimblett, 27, has not been nominated for an award.

Pimblett told reporters on the carpet he’s currently nursing an injury, which may prevent him from competing again as soon as he otherwise would have liked.

‘I’ve had a good year. I was hoping to fight early in 2023 but I’m waiting for the results on an ankle injury which I will get on Thursday,’ he said. 

Paddy ‘the Baddy’ Pimblett has arrived on the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year red carpet wearing jeans and a gilet alongside his glamorous childhood sweetheart

The rising UFC star sported his usual boyish blond fringe and grinned alongside fiancee Laura Gregory, who looked glamorous in a plunging black minidress

But Pimblett’s star has been on the rise after he recently won his fourth fight in the UFC to maintain a perfect record.

Many fighters and fans felt American Jared Gordon should have been given the nod from the judges, who unanimously awarded Pimblett the win.

After posing for photos on the red carpet, Ms Gregory shared a single snap from inside the venue, which was still near empty ahead of the main event tonight. 

Lionel Messi will be crowned World Sport Star of the Year after leading his nation to its first World Cup triumph in 36 years.

Voting for the prized Sports Personality of the Year will kick off throughout the awards show and will be presented by Gary Lineker, Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott.

The couple got engaged in the Phi Phi Islands in Thailand, just before lockdown restrictions came into effect in February 2020, before moving into their ‘perfect home’ later that year

Dubbed the new Conor McGregor, ‘Paddy the Baddy’ made headlines by picking up his fourth consecutive win in the ring, this time over American Jared Gordon in Las Vegas 

Nominees are gymnast Jessica Gadirova, bootballer Beth Mead, cricketer Ben Stokes, snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan, athlete Jake Wightman and curling’s Eve Muirhead.

Eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt will be recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Other categories up for consideration include the team of the year, coach of the year, unsung hero and young Sports Personality of the Year.

In 2021, Emma Raducanu was crowned Sports Personality of the Year after her fairytale finish at the US Open in just her second Grand Slam outing.

Other stars who have already arrived on the red carpet include diving champion Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix, Lioness Beth Mead and Arsenal teammate Vivianne Miedema and England cricket star Sam Curran.

He first got into MMA at the age of 15, a year before he started dating Ms Gregory, his childhood sweetheart

After posing for photos on the red carpet, Ms Gregory (pictured) shared a selfie and a single snap from inside the venue, which was still near empty ahead of the main event tonight

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Pimblett has his sights set on an even bigger 2023, and is hellbent on one day eclipsing Conor McGregor’s achievements in mixed martial arts.

He insists he will ‘be a billionaire eventually’ and has made a promise to help children in his city who rely on foodbanks.

Earlier this month, Pimblett established The Baddy Foundation, which he hopes will ‘help feed kids who are struggling to be fed and to help men with mental health issues’.

He became an outspoken advocate for men’s mental heath following the tragic death of his friend to suicide earlier this year. 

He hopes to ‘finally break this stigma that I’ve been talking about recently and help prevent so many suicides which is such an epidemic at the minute’.  

He told the Guardian earlier this year: ‘I see myself being bigger than that, because the sport has evolved even more than when Conor made it mainstream. He had twentysomething lads following him where I’m getting kids from the age of five.

‘Kids look at McGregor and see a big, hard fella with loads of tattoos. Kids have got long, floppy hair, they haven’t got tattoos. They can identify with me.’

Pimblett grew up in Huyton, Merseyside, attending St Margaret Mary’s Primary school and Cardinal Heenan Catholic High school.

He first got into MMA at the age of 15, a year before he started dating Ms Gregory, his childhood sweetheart.

The couple got engaged in the Phi Phi Islands in Thailand just before lockdown restrictions came into effect in February 2020, before moving into their ‘perfect home’ later that year.