After McGregor’s spectacular UFC rise, White told Paddy Pimblett has a similar aura, and “The Paddy” has concurred with the analogies.
After Dana White compared “The Baddy” to former two-weight champion Conor McGregor, Paddy Pimblett agreed with him.
Pimblett’s rise in the UFC has drawn comparisons to McGregor. With the Liverpudlian becoming one of the promotion’s most popular fighters after just three fights. Pimblett, who submitted Jordan Leavitt at UFC London last month, boasts a massive 1.8 million followers on Instagram. Despite his previous account being deleted on the platform.
UFC boss White said of Pimblett after his latest victory: “He’s got that Conor McGregor vibe. The way he walks, the way he’s in the arena, the way the fans receive him, the way the media covers him. The way people look for content.” White also cited the number of views of Pimblett’s face-off with Leavitt on his Instagram account as evidence of his star power.
Paddy during the interview with MMA Junkie
Reporters asked Pimblett about White’s comparison of him to McGregor “Does he really know what he’s talking about? He’s not wrong, and he hooked me; in fact, after hearing him say to “look look at the numbers,” I went to look at the numbers and went back and looked at part of the [Instagram] reel. More was coming into my reels than any of theirs. You already know that I’m a new kid on the street. The figures indicate that I am the new major man.”
Pimblett was guaranteed just £9,500 for his first two UFC fights. But has since moved on from the controversial deal and is now earning “damn big money”. The Liverpudlian signed a seven-figure deal as brand ambassador and content creator for US media company Barstool Sports just two months after his debut win last September.
Pimblett’s partner Molly ‘Meatball’ McCann will fight at UFC 281 in November. But Pimblett has pulled out of the card due to New York’s tax rate. ‘The Baddy’ is targeting December as a return date in hopes of competing at the scheduled UFC 282 pay-per-view event in Las Vegas.
I hope to compete in Vegas, I think I will, he continued. “I notice that the card will be delivered on December 10. Because I have 1.8 million followers and everyone else has less than 100,000, everyone wants to fight me. People mistakenly believe I can beat them because I don’t seem very intimidating, but when you lock me up and have to solve a challenge, you can’t.”
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