Paddy Pimblett believes that fans should respect Conor McGregor for his iconic achievements in the UFC, despite the pair being rivals at lightweight.
The Brit is a former Cage Warriors featherweight champion just like McGregor, and the pair have generally been kind about one another when asked in interviews or other appearances. And Pimblett believes that fans and other fighters don't appreciate the things the Irishman has done to make the sport relevant in the mainstream.
McGregor was a two-weight world champion, becoming the first in history to hold belts simultaneously in the lightweight and featherweight divisions. And he has attracted well over 10million pay-per-view buys for his main event fights with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz and Eddie Alvarez.
And Pimblett believes that he wouldn't have been able to achieve his own level of notoriety if it weren't for McGregor. Speaking with legendary football player Gary Neville on his Sky Sports show The Overlap , the Liverpool native explained why he gets irked by his fellow lightweight being disrespected by fans.
"I reckon he’s going to come back at the end of the year," Pimblett said of the Irishman. "I think he gets a lot of disrespect and it does my head in. Without him, a lot of MMA wouldn’t be on what they are.
"Here’s an example, if it wasn’t for Conor McGregor, you wouldn’t be sat here with us now doing this because he’s the one who made this sport global. Conor took it to a new level and that’s why I think no one gives him the credit he deserves."
It came after Molly McCann, who was appearing on the show with him to promote their fights at UFC London, noted that almost all of the top selling UFC events involved McGregor. The pair were discussing fighter pay amid controversy over their respective contracts when McGregor came up.
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And Pimblett couldn't resist a cheeky comment, telling Neville that he's aiming to surpass McGregor's massive multi-million base purses. "The only person who is going to beat that is your boy," he declared. "£5million will be chumps change in a few years lad. I'm going to be wiping my a** with £50 notes."
McGregor is currently on the comeback trail after a gruesome broken leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier last summer. He returned to MMA training recently, and is expected back in action at the start of next year.
Meanwhile, the Scouse duo are laser-focused on their upcoming bouts in an effort to build on their recent momentum. Pimblett will face Jordan Leavitt, while McCann will take on Hannah Goldy at The O2 arena in the promotion's second UK show of the year.
