Paddy Pimblett knows his worth after hearing the reaction he received at UFC London this past Saturday, and he’s hoping that will result in a new contract with the promotion.
In just his second fight in the octagon, the 27-year-old Liverpool native was arguably the biggest attraction in the UFC’s return to the United Kingdom. UFC president Dana White touted the attention Pimblett received on Instagram with his videos getting more than triple the views from anybody else competing on the card.
Despite his obvious draw, Pimblett revealed after the fight that he was paid just $24,000 for his win, which has him ready to sit down at the table to renegotiate his contract with the UFC.
“I’m hoping we get contract renegotiations after this one cause I proved how much I’m worth the other night with the crowd there,” Pimblett told The Pat McAfee Show on Monday. “I have my manager doing [negotiations] for me and he’s always had my best interests at heart so I’ll always have him doing it for me.”
Not all UFC contracts are the same but typically newer fighters compete on an escalating scale, which means Pimblett was likely paid $10,000 to show and $10,000 to win in his debut with the next fight increasing to $12,000 to show and $12,000 to win.
Following his win over Kazula Vargas in London, Pimblett was brutally honest while admitting that he has no interest in advancing his level of competition into top 15 ranked opponents until he’s receiving better pay from the UFC.
While he’s adamant about facing anybody the UFC offers him, Pimblett also understands that his salary has to matter if he’s taking on more established opponents.
“It really is genuinely for me whoever they put in front of me. I don’t care,” Pimblett said. “I’ll fight anyone but make sure what I’m getting paid is worth what I’m getting paid to fight this person.”
The same goes for Pimblett’s eventual title aspirations as well.
“I’m not unrealistic,” Pimblett explained. “That’s going to be like a 2025 thing. Something like that. It’s just take it one step at a time and we’ll see, especially now with how my money is.
“If I’m fighting for this amount of money, then I don’t want to fight anywhere near for the title yet. I want to be getting paid championship money even before I fight for the title.”
Pimblett added that he hasn’t spoken to White since the event, but he’ll leave negotiations up to his manager Graham Boylan, who was also his promoter when he was previously competing under the Cage Warriors banner prior to joining the UFC roster.
As for what’s next, Pimblett isn’t trying to call his shot but rather just allowing the fights to come to him as they’re offered.
One thing for certain, “The Baddy” expects the UFC to return to his home country before 2022 is finished and this time he’ll be headlining.
“[Dana White is] going to come back to the U.K. before the end of the year,” Pimblett said. “I know he is, and I probably will be the main event.”