Many MMA fighters cash their biggest checks when signing with the UFC, especially if they haven't fought for the promotion before. However, that wasn't the case for Paddy Pimblett.
The English star revealed that he actually went down in pay when he switched from Cage Warriors to UFC in 2021. Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC), at one point a two-division Cage Warriors champion, said his contact in the U.K. based promotion was much higher than what he initially got paid in the UFC for his first couple of fights.
"When I got offered the first (UFC) contract, I got offered a new Cage Warriors' deal, and that deal was worth more than the base contract for the UFC – and I've done a lot with that money," Pimblett said on the FULL SEND PODCAST. "I saved that money over the years to get a house deposit myself and pay my mom's mortgage off. I've done a few things like that, and that money's done a lot for me over the years. I'm very thankful for Cage Warriors. They set me up for the start of my adult life really, because that's when I was 21 when I first started to get that wage.
"When I first signed with the UFC, I took a pay cut. The UFC standard deal is ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win). I signed for a pay cut at first. My first two fights were 10/10 and then 12/12, and obviously after I won my second fight we got a new deal, and it went up."
Pimblett took a financial risk in order to make it to MMA's big leagues, in hopes of working his way up to an even more lucrative deal.
Pimblett also revealed that he recently signed a new deal with the promotion, which will be in function for his upcoming return at Saturday's UFC 314 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) in Miami. He takes on former Bellator champion Michael Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) in a five-round, co-main event bout.
He said additional sponsorships help pay the bills.
More UFC!
UFC 314: Make your predictions for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes featherweight title fight
UFC 314 'Embedded,' No. 1: More like Paddy 'The Daddy,' amirite?
Javier Mendez: Merab Dvalishvili 'showboated his way to winning' vs. Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 314.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Paddy Pimblett says he took a pay cut to sign with UFC as Cage Warriors champ in 2021
