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Considered one of the best mixed martial artists competing outside of the UFC at the moment, Paddy Pimblett appears to have been signed by the promotion.
"The Baddy" entered the UFC fan rankings pool on the promotion's official website and can be ranked among other featherweight contenders.
Fighting at Cage Warriors, Paddy Piblett became a featherweight champion and almost repeated Conor McGregor's feat of winning two different division belts in the European fighting organization.
However, the fan-favorite fighter was not capable of beating Soren Bak for the Cage Warriors lightweight championship in 2018. Paddy Pimblett has only fought twice more in the promotion since then, both as a lightweight.
Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, Brian Ortega and other top featherweights should be concerned if 'The Baddy' decides to make his way into the UFC through the 145 lb weight class.
Even though the fighter from Liverpool started his career competing at bantamweight, it was at featherweight that he showed the world what he was capable of, winning all but one of his bouts in that division.
Last week, the UFC released an interview with Paddy Pimblett, which had already suggested a deal was in the pipeline.
“When the UFC comes back again and offers me a contract, I will be going,” Pimblett said. “I think that with a nice finish in this next fight, the UFC will come in and offer me a contract. That’s what I’m planning on, to be honest,” Paddy Pimblett told the UFC website.
Paddy Pimblett rejected a UFC offer in 2016
Paddy Pimblett became a well-known name among UFC fans after he rejected an offer by the world's most famous fighting organization back in 2018.
Explaining his decision to MMA Junkie in 2018, Paddy Pimblett revealed he got a better proposal from Cage Warriors, which influenced his decision to stay.
"I'll be honest, the UFC came in with an offer after I won the belt, but I would have been an idiot to refuse the offer Cage Warriors gave me. I had a meal with [Cage Warriors owner] Graham Boylan in London after I won the title, and there were a few offers, but we just picked the one that was best for us in the now. Cage Warriors was better cash, so I would have been stupid to say no," Paddy Pimblett confessed.
The UFC offer came in 2016 when The Baddy was only 21 years old. Now, as a 26-year-old, it looks like the Liverpudlian had to concede his goal of becoming a two-division champion before joining the UFC.
While neither the UFC nor Paddy Pimblett have given any updates regarding the subject, the introduction of the former Cage Warriors featherweight champion to the promotion's website and his latest interview are strong indicators of what is to come next.
If the deal materializes, who would you like to see Paddy Pimblett fight in his UFC debut? Sound off in the comments.
