Paddy Pimblett has responded to claims that he received $107,000 for his victory over Kazula Vargas at UFC London this past weekend. The Liverpool star impressed in his win in just the second time that Pimblett has fought in the UFC after his debut over Luigi Vendramini in September - in which he also secured a first-round finish.
Like the first fight, Pimblett was hit early on before waking up and performing later in the first-round. After taking a right from Vargas, the Liverpool star was able to regroup before using a Judo hip toss, taking Vargas' back and locking in the rear naked choke for the submission victory.
The victory sees Pimblett's stature rise further, with the rising UFC star admitting that he could have been the main event himself. However, the 27-year-old is still on a starter contract, which makes him considerably less money than usual main event stars.
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Pimblett has stated that he will need a new contract before facing bigger opponents and is happy to continue building his way up the ranks before being considered a contender in the division. But make no mistake, his victory will have put the division on notice.
Whilst Pimblett is not unhappy with his contract, it's unlikely that he'll be willing to face names that have been linked as potential next opponents - the likes of Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone and Ilia Topuria.
Having been in the UFC for considerably longer, those fighters are on a much bigger pay package than Pimblett, with reports emerging of how much the Baddy made for his victory. An account on Twitter suggested that Pimblett took home $107,000 for his win - something he laughed off. The 27-year-old responded by saying: "I wish I was getting paid that are yous (sic) for f****** real?!"
Pimblett did receive a $50,000 pay bonus for his win, as did Molly McCann. He also signed a seven-figure deal with Barstool Sports last year, as he continues to work with the company and will travel to the States in the coming weeks.
