It seems the UFC’s newest fighting sensation from the United Kingdom, Paddy Pimblett has some big fans over at Barstool Sports.
On Friday came the news that the former Cage Warriors champion and UFC’s newest “it” guy has inked a seven-figure sponsorship deal with sports and entertainment website Barstool Sports.
The 26-year-old fighter from Liverpool made his long-awaited promotional debut in September with an impressive first-round technical knockout victory over Luigi Vendramini. Although it wasn’t smooth sailing in the early moments of the fight for Pimblett, his destructive win and entertaining post-fight interviews caught the eye of Barstool Sports President David Portnoy.
Paddy Pimblett signs million-dollar sponsorship with Barstool Sports
The company’s boss took to Twitter and posted a video explaining his decision to sponsor an athlete for the first time came after he went “down the rabbit hole” in researching Pimblett, and discovered a unique talent with serious superstar potential.
“We’ve never sponsored a fighter before or a singular pro athlete like this. But I reached out because there’s something about this guy. Who the f*ck is Paddy the Baddy, because this guy’s gonna be a star,” Portnoy said. “Now, he’s gotta keep winning and I think he’s gonna, but I reach out and say, ‘Hey, Paddy the Baddy I’m a big fan, I want to sponsor you.’
“We talked for a couple of weeks, his manager gets involved, next thing you know, for the first time ever, we have an exclusive, singular pro athlete sponsorship. Paddy the Baddy is joining the Barstool family. We’ve got a ton of sh*t planned for this guy. Prediction time. If he keeps beating everybody [he’ll be] the biggest athlete in the world.”
Some of that aforementioned “sh*t” was explained in Pimblett’s Twitter post announcing the deal. In the image, he is listed as a “brand ambassador and content creator” for the site.
Pimblett rose to notoriety during a dominant run competing on the UK regional MMA scene. Winning the Cage Warriors bantamweight title, and selling out arenas during his run in the promotion. He currently competes at featherweight and has racked up a 17-3 record during his nine-year prizefighting career.
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