Paddy Pimblett’s UFC contract seems to be the talk of the town following his show-stealing performance at UFC London last month. But the former Cage Warriors champion says all of the outrage over the terms of his first UFC deal is just click-chasing from traffic-hungry news outlets.
Speaking to Edith Labelle backstage at Cage Warriors 136, a relaxed Pimblett said, “That is what it is. Everyone just wants to talk about me (and) wants to use my name for clickbait, trying to talk bad about me and my manager. It’s people just trying to use my name for clickbait. It’s mad, 24/7.”
While MMA bloggers have taken issue with Pimblett’s starting UFC contract, Pimblett himself isn’t worried at all, and said the big paydays will come as soon as he signs a new deal with the promotion.
“That’s the contract. The contract’s the contract. I’ll get a new one soon,” he said.
“You sign that contract when you sign for the UFC. I get a new one soon, and it will be six figures.”
While others may be talking about Pimblett’s earning potential, Pimblett himself is focusing on helping others, and revealed that plans to start a charitable venture are close to fruition.
“Yeah, I’ve been saying for ages now I’ve been saying for over a year I want to start my own charity,” he said.
“Paul (Rimmer, Pimblett’s head coach) mentioned to me a while back and I’ve finally got the wheels in motion. We finally started getting it going once again, my manager helping me get stuff done and we’re gonna have a proper charity started real soon that I can start investing my time, my effort and my money into.”
After two eye-catching finishes in his first two UFC fights and a stack of headlines raving about his performance – and the crowd’s reaction to him in his native England – Pimbett isn’t getting ahead of himself. He’s putting things in place to make sure he succeeds long term. He already has a lucrative deal with Barstool Sports, who also signed up Pimblett’s good friend and teammate Molly McCann after UFC London, and he is moving ahead with plans to establish his own charity.
As for his next fighting assignment, Pimblett said he’s keen to get back into the cage this summer against whoever the UFC picks to face him next.
“It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter who I’m fighting, it’s just another name. Another person stood in front of me that I need to beat, and that’s what I’ll do,” he said.
“I’m open to fight again in the next few months. I want another two fights at least before this before this year is out. Before 2022 is over I want to I want to be 3-0 at least, maybe 4.”
