"I wish I was getting paid that" - Paddy Pimblett denies rumors that he made $107K in Rodrigo Vargas fight
Paddy Pimblett proved he was a legit star at UFC London with his rousing entrance and exciting performance. Now he's looking to get paid like a star before he moves up the lightweight rankings to face tougher opposition.
It took Pimblett just under four minutes to defeat Rodrigo 'Kazula' Vargas by making him tapout with a rear-naked choke in the first round. And while UFC purses are a tightly guarded secret these days, that doesn't stop many sports outlets from trying to pinpoint exactly how much money fighters are making.
According to Fight Scout, 'The Baddy' received a payout of $107,000 for his win at the sold out O2 Arena. Paddy Pimblett took to Twitter to deny that figure:
"I wish I was gettin paid that are yous for f**king real?!"
I wish I was gettin paid that are yous for fucking real?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 twitter.com/fightscoutapp/…
So how much did Paddy Pimblett make? His entry level contract with the promotion had him making $20,000 to show and $20,000 to win for his September 2021 debut. Standard UFC contracts add an extra $5000 to the show and win amounts, meaning Pimblett likely made $50,000 for his win against Vargas.
Then add the $50,000 performance bonus every fighter with a finish received at UFC London, and the $4000 Venum uniform pay. This adds up to $104,000, not too far off from Fight Scout's number. Perhaps Pimblett isn't taking his performance bonus into account?
Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann
(London, 2022) https://t.co/DbEoW9cYO8
Paddy Pimblett wants to add some more zeros to his UFC contract
One thing is for sure, Pimblett wants to sit down with the UFC and work out a new deal. He said as much at the UFC London post-fight press conference, declaring:
"No, lad, I wouldn't take a top 15 fight. I'll be honest, I wouldn't. Add some more zeros to my contract and then I will. I think I proved tonight that I deserve a new contract. Not this little standard one."
Pimblett hasn't been very impressed with UFC pay since arriving in the promotion. Leading up to his first fight he told Michael Bisping that his Cage Warriors contract from 2016 paid him more than the UFC:
"That contract with Cage Warriors was given me five years ago, I got more money then than the contract I'm getting now for the UFC."
Between Dana White's positive words and the way the UK crowd reacted to Paddy Pimblett's win, it looks like there's a very good chance 'The Baddy' will finally get the pay he feels he deserves.
Dana White says Paddy Pimblett validated himself as "the real deal" at #UFCLondon.
Full interview: bit.ly/3CWuWJt https://t.co/enioPWbFhQ