Paddy the Baddy May Pursue Money Instead of UFC Glory
There is always a lot of smoke and mirrors when contract negotiations pop up in fighting. With the current business climate in MMA, there isn’t a lot of glory in being a free agent. The UFC is the clear No. 1 in the market, while anyone looking at MMAfighting latest news will see that many fighters who have sought big money have had to do it by being creative.
One of those avenues for revenue has been boxing against celebrity influencers. Paddy Pimblett, who is in the last fight of his six-fight deal with the UFC, discussed this possibility in a recent interview. But all of that talk could be smoke and mirrors.
Pimblett is set to fight King Green on July 27 in Manchester, England, at UFC 304. What happens after that will be interesting for his career. The perception of Pimblett being a potential UFC champion has faded since he debuted in the UFC in September 2021.
Pimblett’s struggles with his weight and other issues may lead to him pursuing something where he doesn’t have to worry so much about cutting weight.
The Momentum Has Run Out
Pimblett is known for his energetic walk outs and exciting fights. When Pimblett debuted in the UFC, he finished his first three opponents. The former Cage Warriors lightweight champion was being floated as a possible opponent for another rising star in Ilia Topuria.
But while Topuria shot his way to the featherweight championship, Pimblett hasn’t been especially active. He won a controversial decision against Jared Gordon at UFC 282 in December 2022. After a year off, Pimblett came back with an unimpressive win over Tony Ferguson.
While Pimblett was in control of the fight, Pimblett should have found a way to finish Ferguson, who is on a seven-fight losing streak, according to MMA latest updates.
Will Diaz-Masvidal Give Pimblett Pause?
There have been many boxing matches over the past five years between people who are filled with combat sports experience, but aren’t really boxers. Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal recently turned heads when they fought at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
The event sold out, putting 18,040 people in the stands. However, things weren’t all good from the event. Diaz, who won the fight via split decision, is now having to fight in the courtroom.
After initially being promised a $10 million purse by promoter Solomon Engel’s company, Fanmio, Diaz has only received $1 million. Online boxing news shows Diaz is suing Fanmio in court in order to try and get the rest of the money he was promised.
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Diaz. He has always been willing to take risks and was willing to fight anyone.
Was it Worth it For Ngannou?
Francis Ngannou walked away from the UFC a few years ago when he was at his career peak. After winning the heavyweight championship, Ngannou chose to leave the UFC and sign with the PFL. But to this date, Ngannou hasn’t fought in the cage in the PFL.
Instead, Ngannou pursued boxing matches against two of the top fighters in the world. Ngannou fought Tyson Fury, the former lineal champion, in October 2023 and surprised the entire boxing world by scoring a knockdown in a split-decision loss.
There was some thought that Ngannou would have a puncher’s chance against his next opponent, another former heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua. But Joshua put a rest to that quickly. Joshua knocked Ngannou out cleanly in the second round. There still isn’t a date and time set for Ngannou’s next fight.
But the loss to Joshua seems to have taken the sting out of Ngannou’s momentum. Now, Ngannou will need to try to rebuild his reputation in the PFL. Part of the problem with the PFL is that it doesn’t have an especially deep heavyweight division.
Where Does Pimblett Stand with the UFC Now?
Pimblett, despite a 5-0 record in the organization, isn’t in the top 15 of the lightweight rankings. Part of that is because Pimblett hasn’t had the hardest group of opponents. Beating Ferguson didn’t feel as impressive because of how the former lightweight interim champion’s star has fallen over the past few seasons.
Beating Green would provide Pimblett’s career with a spark. Green is ranked No. 15 in the rankings and has a reputation as being a fighter who puts on exciting fights. Pimblett could relight the spark with an impressive win.
Pimblett has been successful no matter what organization he has been in during his career. He has a 21-3 record, including six wins by knockout and nine by submission. Two of Pimblett’s three losses came in Cage Warriors championship fights.
Pimblett’s best reactions from the crowd have come when he got opportunities to fight in England. While the American crowd has greeted him warmly for the most part, there was some booing following his performance against Gordon.
Oh, Paddy the Baddy
Pimblett’s personality, look and fighting style allowed him to build a strong reputation. But going from being an English star to someone with a worldwide appeal is something that he is still working on. Pimblett has been a solid middle-of-the-card fighter in the UFC.
But can he take the next step and be England’s version of Conor McGregor? That seems unlikely at this point. But Pimblett has enough skill that he should be able to provide fight fans with plenty of good memories if he keeps fighting.
Pimblett making the move to boxing right now doesn’t make sense. Hopefully, Pimblett will resign from the UFC and get the opportunity to fight some of the top fighters in the promotion to figure out how good he really is. Right now, the perception is that Pimblett is a solid fighter, who isn’t really championship material.
Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
By Dean McHugh.
