UFC star Paddy Pimblett has spoken out about ‘boring’ UFC fighters ahead of his return to the Octagon.
When it comes to having a big name in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Paddy Pimblett is well on his way to becoming one of the most recognisable fighters on the entire roster. The Liverpudlian has been on the radar of mixed martial arts fans ever since his rise up through the ranks in Cage Warriors and now, he’s managing to take that success over into the UFC.
It seems like every time we turn a corner, Pimblett is there with some kind of quick remark or controversial statement on social media - or, alternatively, he’s making an impact inside the cage.
He’s certainly done that across his first two appearances with a knockout over Luigi Vendramini and a submission win over Kazula Vargas to take him up to 2-0 in the promotion.
Of course, one of the issues that comes to the surface when discussing popularity in the UFC is fighter pay, and Paddy had an interesting take on the matter when chatting to Gary Neville recently alongside Molly McCann.
“People moan about the wages and that, but they’re either a boring fighter, they’ve got no personality, you know what I mean? It’s always stuff like that. They never go ‘ah yeah, it’s my own fault’, or ‘I’m a boring bastard’. Some people can’t talk on the mic, but they’re boss in the cage.”
“You’ve got to have the whole package.”
Neville went on to ask Pimblett whether he and Molly were in a position to negotiate their own deals.
“I think I’m getting a new contract for this fight, you know what I mean? I’ll be getting paid a lot more. I’m bringing everything else, and I put bums on seats.”
The next challenge
Pimblett will hope he can continue his lightweight surge next weekend when the UFC returns to London for the second time this year. In what will serve as one of the featured bouts on the card, ‘The Baddy’ will go head to head with Jordan Leavitt.
While it’s certainly a step up in competition for the Scouse sensation, many expect and anticipate that he’ll be able to move to 3-0 and push on towards the top 15 of the UFC’s most stacked division.