‘I’m not leaving UFC:’ UFC 304’s Paddy Pimblett clarifies free agency comments — ‘It’d be all about the money’

Paddy Pimblett isn’t going anywhere.

UFC 304 features the return of England’s favorite “Baddy” when he battles King Green (formerly Bobby) this weekend (Sat., July 27, 2024). However, the 29-year-old Pimblett raised some alarms throughout the combat sports community when he revealed he’ll be a free agent after the clash.

The Lightweight prospect noted how he’d be open to taking on some of the YouTubers who have recently infiltrated the boxing world, like Logan Paul. Pimblett’s overall fighting interest isn’t in boxing, though. For the Liverpool native, show him the money then he’ll get back to doing his thing inside the Octagon.

“I‘m a prize fighter. It’d be all about the money, it goes without saying,” Pimblett told MMA Mania. “All this stupid YouTube boxing is daft, but if they’re offering me millions of pounds to do it, then I’ll do it. But yeah, people have made a big deal of that lad, I’m not leaving the UFC. The UFC is the marquee MMA promotion in the world.

“People don’t even know what MMA is,” he continued. “People say, ‘Oh, you do that UFC.’ So, why would I leave the UFC to go and fight in some B-league promotion like PFL or Bellator or all these other sh*t promotions? I’m not doing that. I’m gonna fight in the UFC for the rest of my fighting career, more than likely. But, as I say, if I get offered a couple of million dollars to f*cking box some idiots, I’m gonna do it.”

Before Pimblett gets the chance to weigh his options, he’ll need to get through the 49-fight veteran, Green (32-15-1, 1 no contest). The pair of Lightweights have two common opponents. The most notable of the two is former interim champion, Tony Ferguson, who Green submitted with a third round arm triangle choke (watch highlights) after Pimblett won a unanimous decision in December 2023.

Although Green’s win was arguably more impressive, Pimblett isn’t putting any stock into the MMA between their performances. If anything, Pimblett believes his win was a more dominant effort and a follow-up win over Green can launch him into a top 10 outing.

“Well, he had a much more competitive first round against him,” Pimblett said. “Bobby was dropped by Tony, and I dropped Tony. Everyone’s calling Bobby a striker which is a bit mad just because he can’t grapple like I can. But, yeah, he ended up catching a sub in the last round because Tony Ferguson gave him it whereas I just dominated Tony for three rounds. MMA maths doesn’t work in that way, lad. Just because one person’s beat one another, you can’t say, ‘Oh, he’s gonna beat him.’ As I said, the MMA maths just doesn’t work.”

“I’d love to fight someone like Beneil Dariush,” he continued. “He’s so high up the rankings, it’d be nice to jump up that much, but to be honest, it’d be someone like Dan Hooker, I think. But as I say, I want to fight [Renato] Moicano, that’s who I’d love to fight.

LIVE! Watch UFC 304 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

’McGREGOR-FREE MAIN EVENT! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., June 29, 2024, without its biggest box office draw, Conor McGregor, after the Irish sports star delayed the “greatest comeback of all-time” because he broke his pinky toe (seriously). Coming the rescue once again is Light Heavyweight champion, Alex Pereira, agreeing to rematch former division champion, Jiri Prochazka, in the pay-per-view (PPV) main event. In UFC 303’s co-headliner, top-ranked Featherweight contender, Brian Ortega, will attempt to halt the rise of red-hot surging 145-pound prospect, Diego Lopes. UFC 303’s PPV main card (see it here) will also feature Anthony Smith vs. Roman Dolidze and Ian Garry vs. Michael “Venom” Page and so much more. It’s must-watch action! UFC 303 start time scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (Prelims) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV).