Paddy Pimblett feels at home and is happy with his spot in the UFC, downplaying rivals Bellator and the PFL.
The ‘Baddy’ speaks his mind and is creating headlines, contributing to his growing stardom to date. Pimblett, formerly Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion has been on the UFC roster since 2021.
Since entering the UFC Paddy has gone 4-0 with 3 wins by finish and most recently a controversial unanimous decision win against Jared Gordon. He’s currently recovering from surgery and looks to be out until the end of the year at least.
Paddy Pimblett Discusses Early Career Decision Making
In an interview with Severe MMA Paddy spoke about almost ending his career early: “I was looking at walking away at 4-1 because I wasn’t getting paid enough. I was gonna quit MMA when I was 18 because I wasn’t getting paid anywhere near enough. I was getting paid like [$620] to fight, something stupid like that. It wasn’t enough.”
In comparing promotions Pimblett had this to say: “I can understand a lot of fighters now that are going to PFL and are going to Bellator, but if you’ve got a dream that you want to be in the UFC then I think 99 out of 100 MMA fighters, their dream is to be in the UFC. No one gets up in the morning and goes, ‘Ah, I want to fight for Bellator, mate.’ Or, ‘Ah, I want to fight for PFL.’ The only reason people go to PFL is to try and win the million dollars with easier fights.”
The question remains about how UFC fighters fare once they leave the UFC and the recent example of Thiago Santos shows how difficult the transition is, however, other fighters such as Olivier Aubin-Mercier have had success once leaving the UFC.
One thing is for sure is that Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett will be in the UFC for a few years to come yet.
How do you think the UFC compares to its competitors? Are the others catching up? Let us know in the comments
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
