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Paddy Pimblett is currently recovering from ankle surgery (and it doesn’t sound like that’s going great). As he does that he’s been good for plenty of soundbites.
The latest of those has the Liverpudlian once again caping for his bosses at the UFC (who pay their fighters very fairly, don’t you know?). This time around Pimblett decided to stick the boot in to the UFC’s rivals, stating that virtually no fighter in their right mind would choose to fight for Bellator or PFL over the UFC.
That’s what he said to Severe MMA at least.
Paddy Pimblett slams UFC rivals
“I can understand a lot of fighters now that are going to PFL and are going to Bellator, but if you’ve got a dream that you want to be in the UFC then I think 99 out of 100 MMA fighters, their dream is to be in the UFC,” said Pimblett. “No one gets up in the morning and goes, ‘Ah, I want to fight for Bellator, mate.’ Or, ‘Ah, I want to fight for PFL.’ The only reason people go to PFL is to try and win the million dollars with easier fights.”
Despite what Pimblett thinks, the PFL has shown that it’s not an easy ride for UFC fighters hoping to cash in with their million dollar tourneys. Anthony Pettis, Rory McDonald, Thiago Santos and Shane Burgos have all learned the hard way that Octagon experience doesn’t equal instant success in PFL.
Pimblett is also disregarding the swathe of fighters who have come out and said that they are happier and better paid outside of the UFC.
Paddy Pimblett’s UFC record
Pimblett came over to the UFC from Cage Warriors in 2021. He made his promotional debut at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Till in the UFC APEX in September, 2021. At that event he defeated Luigi Vendramini by KO.
Pimblett’s next UFC bout was at UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Aspinall in March 2022, which was held in London, England. Pimblett beat Rodrigo Vargas by submission on that card.
Pimblett was booked on another UFC London card a few months later. There he submitted Jordan Leavitt.
Last December Pimblett appeared at UFC 282. There he took a unanimous decision win over Jared Gordon. Many onlookers decried that decision, believing Pimblett was very fortunate to escape that fight with his hand raised.
Pimblett’s timetable for a return is currently unclear.
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