Pimblett explains why he turned down fight with Gordon

Paddy Pimblett after winning his UFC debut at the UFC APEX. | Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages

Paddy Pimblett is thinking carefully about his UFC career. Former Cage Warriors champion Paddy Pimblett stormed onto the UFC sc…


Paddy Pimblett after winning his UFC debut at the UFC APEX.
Paddy Pimblett after winning his UFC debut at the UFC APEX. | Photo by Louis Grasse/PxImages

Paddy Pimblett is thinking carefully about his UFC career.

Former Cage Warriors champion Paddy Pimblett stormed onto the UFC scene last year. The brash Englishman made his debut in September and defeated Luigi Vendramini by TKO. Since then a number of fighters have claimed they’d like to be next to test the Liverpudlian.

Pimblett has said plenty since that fight, claiming he is the one to watch when it comes to future UFC superstars. Recently he appeared on the UFC’s Unfiltered podcast to talk about what’s next for him.

He also discussed what happened regarding a potential, but albeit scrapped, fight with Jared Gordon.

“I would have happily fought Jared Gordon,” he said (ht Sportskeeda). “But at the same time, I looked at it, and he’s had nine UFC fights. How much money do you think he’s getting? He’s getting a lot more than me, so thinking about it that way, I’m glad I never ended up fighting Jared Gordon. Because I want a better and bigger contract before I fight people like that.”

Pimblett isn’t alone in this kind of thinking when it comes to career planning in the UFC. Sean O’Malley, who has had some things to say about Pimblett in the past, has gone on record saying he won’t fight big name opponents until he gets a pay increase.

After a fight with the Octagon-veteran Gordon fell through, Pimblett signed on to face Rodrigo Vargas at the UFC card scheduled for London’s O2 Arena on March 19. Vargas is 1-2 in the UFC.