Liverpool lightweight Paddy Pimblett revealed he learned a friend had taken his own life ahead of his latest Ultimate Fighting Championship outing on Saturday.

Pimblett went on to urge men not to suffer in silence in a heartfelt interview after his victory over American Jordan Leavitt at London’s O2 Arena.

The 27-year-old overcame the Las Vegas native with a second-round submission.

Pimblett said in his post-fight interview: “I woke up on Friday morning at 4am to a message that one of my friends back home had killed himself. This was five hours before my weigh-in.

“So Ricky lad, that’s for you.

“But, there is 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 killing yourself, please speak to someone, speak to anyone.

“People would rather – I know I’d rather have 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.”