Paddy Pimblett has laughed off speculative figures from fans claiming that he made over £100,000 for his second UFC fight on Saturday night.
The Liverpool native has burst onto the scene with his first round stoppages inside the octagon, as well as his antics outside of it, and has inked a sponsorship deal with Barstool Sports worth seven figures to become a brand ambassador and content creator. But he is still on a starter salary with the UFC, which can be as low as £9,000 to win and £9,000 to show up.
Pimblett did earn himself a hefty £38,000 bonus for his stunning first round win over Rodrigo Vargas in one of the biggest fights of the night at the O2 Arena, but when a site reported that he had earned $107,000, or around £82,000, Pimblett was quick to dismiss the number as ludicrous, saying in a tweet: "I wish I was getting paid that are yous for f***ing real?!"
The former Cage Warriors champion has even said that on his current contract he would turn down a fight that could land him in the lightweight top 15. “Without being a big-headed tool, I am the star of the show,” Pimblett told reporters after his win last week. “It’s that simple. Expect me to take over the show. I told you this. This is the ‘Baddy’ show. Swept the O2 right up.
“I wouldn’t take a top 15 fight,I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t. Add some more zeroes to my contract and then I will. I think I proved tonight that I deserve a new contract. Not this little standard one.”
UFC President Dana White ultimately handed out bonuses of $50,000, or £38,000 to every fighter who landed a finish on the card, meaning that nine fighters on the card left with a massive pay increase.
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It came after Pimblett had run to his boss after his win and demanded the bonus, which had also been called for by Muhammad Mokaev following his first-minute submission of Cody Durden. "That's another 50 grand for me isn't it bro," Pimblett says he told White. "'I'm never in a boring fight!' That's what I said to him because I'm not."
It remains to be seen when the Liverpool native will return to the octagon, where he will likely face another unranked opponent after showing room for improvement in both wins. He only marked himself as having had a "six-out-of-ten" performance in the Vargas win, after multiple times being caught cleanly in his debut against Luigi Vendramini.
"I got hit with a big shot," he admitted after the fight. "But it was a sloppy takedown attempt from me to be honest, I'm quite disappointed in my performance but I got the first round finish and that's all that matters."
