UFC stars Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann have paid a heartfelt tribute after the tragic death of four-year-old Lee-Joshua Hodgson.
At the O2 Arena ahead of their bouts in London tonight, Molly was seen wearing a green t-shirt with the smiling face of Lee on it. Paddy had also been pictured wearing the same top.
Back in 2020, young Lee was taken to his GP with 'strange symptoms' which included a cough and swelling in the groin area. After a trip to the hospital, Lee was sent back to his Kirkby home with antibiotics, with the initial diagnosis that it was a viral infection.
However, after finding a lump on his knee and being told it may be a cyst, the family found themselves in hospital on Christmas Day where scans showed he had stage four metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma alveolar. The disease is an extremely rare and aggressive cancer that forms in soft tissue.
Devastatingly, baby Lee passed away, aged four, on June 26 with his parents describing him as a "real-life superhero". In a heartbreaking Instagram post, his parents described him as a "kind, caring, generous, happy and funny little boy" who had "fought every last breath".
Mum Keishia Murphy told the ECHO that her "perfect" son, who dreamt of being a bin man, had "deteriorated rapidly" during his final weeks after having fluid on his brain, before he lost his life at Claire's House Hospice - as she thanked them for all of their support.
Speaking to BT Sport in the build-up to his fight against Jordan Leavitt, Pimblett was close to tears as he opened up about the impact Lee made on him.
Paddy said: "I went to his funeral the other week. It was hard. Very hard. You shouldn't ever have to go to a four-year-old's funeral. It's something no-one should ever have to do. Especially his mum and dad.
"I stood with Molly, and my missus, crying my eyes out. I'm going to do this fight for him. Seeing that little man smile when I won that last fight, and at the weigh-in last time, it made it all worth it.
"I know he's going to be looking down. The little angel he is. I know he's going to be in there with me."
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