UFC star Paddy the Baddy made headlines earlier this year when it was revealed the fighter was receiving just £9,500 for his first two fights, but his manager Graham Boylan has now confirmed the contract is 'gone'.
Fans were stunned when it emerged that Paddy Pimblett's UFC contract earned him just £9,500 per fight, as the Scouse fighter is considered one of the hottest prospects and a huge ticket seller.
Pimblett has previously requested a new contract with a bigger payout for fighting higher level opponents.
"I wouldn’t take a top 15 fight, I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t. Add some more zeroes to my contract and then I will. I think I proved tonight that I deserve a new contract. Not this little standard one," he told reporters after his victory at UFC London back in March.
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However, his manager has now confirmed Pimblett will be earning considerably more for his next fight to go along with his seven-figure deal with American network Barstool Sports.
Speaking to Mirror Fighting, Graham Boylan said: "'Everybody goes into the UFC on a standard contract. There's no difference what you do, you have to go and prove yourself. I can categorically tell you now that contract's gone, that's gone – he's on f***ing big money now. It is what it is but I'm just happy for him."
The uproar came after Pimblett disclosed that he was paid just £9,500 as a guarantee for his main card fight at London's O2 Arena earlier this year.
While most of us would consider a £9,500 payout to be pretty spectacular, in the world of UFC, this amount just doesn't cut it for a fighter as talked-about as Pimblett.
The fight generated a record gate of £3.6million but Pimblett was paid only £9,500 out of the hefty sum if he showed up to the fight and an additional £9,500 if he won. Fortunately, after winning the fight he also earned himself a stoppage bonus from the promotion. Pimblett ended up pocketing a nice tidy sum of £58,000, but fans were still outraged at how small of a cut this was from the original £3.6million.
Both fans and fighters believed that Pimblett deserved more as he was responsible for attracting a large portion of the audience.
UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling shared his support for Pimblett, stating that he deserves to earn considerably more for his fights, especially considering how popular the fighter is around the world. Sterling shared his thoughts on his podcasts, noting that Pimblett has attracted the majority of fans to buy tickets.
Sterling said: "Paddy Pimblett, super popular, pretty much sold out the entire arena. Himself, damn near by himself. Tom Aspinall, Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann... But the person that most of the people came to see was Paddy freaking Pimblett."
The bantamweight champion added: "Obviously they came for the UFC show because it's the freaking UFC and everybody comes out for that, but who are they coming to see at the UFC event? Paddy Pimblett."
Jake Paul also blasted Pimblett's management, claiming the star was being 'pimped' over the controversial £9,500 contract.
Pimblett is now lined up to fight Jordan Leavitt at the O2 in London next month, and will be paid accordingly.
Topics: UFC
Shiala Mahmood