"If he's making 12 and 12, he's fighting the right guys" - John McCarthy insists Paddy Pimblett shouldn't face more experienced fighters until he is paid better
Following his second consecutive first-round win inside the octagon, Paddy Pimblett opened up about his less than expected earnings, and now John McCarthy has added his opinion on the matter.
The 27-year-old is one of the sport's fastest rising stars and has a large number of fans backing his every move. While being associated with the UFC has, of course, bolstered his brand, the Brit was already a huge presence in MMA prior to signing for the promotion.
While discussing the matter on a recent episode of his Weighing In podcast, John McCarthy insisted that Paddy Pimblett shouldn't be eying difficult fights until he's on a better contract, saying:
"If he's making twelve [thousand dollars per fight] and twelve [thousand dollars per win], he's fighting the right guys... If you're getting paid a low salary, then your caliber of competition shouldn't be some of the better guys out there because you're not getting paid to fight those guys."
McCarthy continued, comparing the Englishman's decision to fighter lesser opponents to Sean O'Malley's rise in the sport, by saying:
"That's part of what 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley is talking about, and I don't blame them at all. I don't know what every guy is making, I did not know what Paddy was making. At twelve and twelve, take on all the guys that they're giving you at that level, build your record, that's good."
Despite being one of the biggest standout names hailing from the United Kingdom, Paddy Pimblett is earning considerably less than other lesser-known fighters in his division.
Check out what Josh Thomson and John McCarthy had to say about the Liverpool-native in the video below (1:02:00):
What's next for Paddy Pimblett?
Although Paddy Pimblett is unranked, the lightweight division is stacked full of killers, who despite being outside the top 15, would be a tough task for the BJJ Black Belt.
As the Next Gen representative has claimed, he will not take on a ranked opponent until he is given a contract that reflects his work. An easy fight to create that wouldn't require any backstory is a matchup between 'The Baddy' and Ilia Topuria.
Stemming from their past disagreements over social media, the two had a backstage scuffle prior to their respective bouts at UFC London. The Georgian took to the mic after his win to call out the 21-fight veteran and as they're both unranked, we could see this one scheduled sooner rather than later.