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Paddy Pimblett is undoubtedly one of the biggest MMA stars in the UK, but his fight at UFC London may be the last time he fights in his home country for a while. 'The Baddy' explained that's just how it goes when you're a money maker like he is.
Pimblett is fighting Jordan Leavitt on the main card of UFC London this weekend, just four months after his last big performance at the O2 Arena. Pimblett may have become too big to fight in England moving forward, though. He's said in the past that he intends on becoming the biggest star in the UFC.
Asked at the UFC London media day press conference how that's going, Pimblett said:
"I'm nearly there already. I've had two fights, I've had more media than anyone else this week. That's a fact. I'm doing a sit down face off interview with the mushroom [Jordan Leavitt] tomorrow, when does that ever happen when it's not the main event or a title fight? It doesn't, and there's only one reason it's happening: because of me."
"Everyone knows I'm the boy. I'm the new kid on the block. I'm the one that's getting the bums on seats. This will be my last fight in the UK for a good few years til we do Anfield [Stadium]. After this I'll be fighting on pay-per-views. The UFC is losing too much money having me fight on ESPN+ in the states, lad."
Watch Paddy Pimblett discuss fame and fighting in the UK below:
Paddy Pimblett has already dealt with the demons that come with fame
Paddy Pimblett's star has shot into the stratosphere since his UFC arrival in September 2021. Many athletes haven't been able to handle the spotlight well and have gone off the rails. During the UFC London media day press conference, a reporter asked how Pimblett would avoid some of the pitfalls Conor McGregor has hit dealing with fame.
Pimblett replied:
"I've already had that. Not on as big of a scale, but I already had that when I was 21 and I won the Cage Rage world title. I had all the cling-ons, the people hanging off me coat tails, I had all that. I had hanging around with the wrong people, not being with me proper mates, even split up with the missus for a bit. And you realize, lad, and I'm so happy with hindsight that it happened to me, I had to hit rock bottom before I came back up, and I did hit rock bottom in the past, but now I'm here and I'm here to stay."
Having gone through fame in the UK at 21 years of age, Paddy Pimblett is now ready at 27 years old to deal with UFC stardom. All he has to do now is keep winning in the octagon. Trying to stop him will be Jordan Leavitt, a tricky jiu jitsu fighter with an affinity for twerking. The two battle on July 23 at UFC London from the O2 Arena.
