Paddy Pimblett has set the timeline for his next UFC fight with two different options in his mind.
‘The Baddy’ bagged a $200,000 bonus in his last octagon appearance after a first-round submission win over King Green at UFC 304 in July.
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Pimblett submitted King Green in his last octagon appearanceCredit: GettyThe Liverpudlian revealed at the time that he would be spending the money on his two daughters, who were born in April this year.
UFC President Dana White had been left so frustrated by other boring fights on the Manchester card that he decided to double Pimblett’s bonus.
White had already agreed to bump up every bonus from the traditional $50,000 awarded for the performance and fight of the night, which was something he later admitted would happen again.
READ MORE UFCThe win also leveraged Pimblett into the UFC’s top 15 lightweight rankings, where he is currently placed 14th, behind the likes of Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier and Charles Oliveira.
Speaking to Cage Warriors, an Irish-owned MMA promotion based in London, Pimblett discussed when we can expect to see him back in the octagon.
“I think the only card that I could possibly fight on [this year] is December again in Vegas,” he said. “But, nothing has been said at the minute.”
A third of Pimblett’s UFC fights have come in the month of December and the 29-year-old is yet to lose in Dana White’s promotion.
He was only able to fight once during the entire of 2023, beating Tony Ferguson at UFC 296, after suffering ankle ligament damage during his win over Jared Gordon one year prior.
“I know [Renato] Moicano is fighting [this] week, but I can’t see him coming back soon enough for December, so it could end up being next year, early next year,” Pimblett added.
Moicano, who was victorious at UFC 300 in April, is one opponent who Pimblett has repeatedly stated that he would like to fight, regardless of the result this weekend.
The Brazilian has won five of his past six fights and takes on France’s Benoit Saint Denis at the Accor Arena for UFC Fight Night 243 in Paris on Saturday night.
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Pimblett was a star in Cage Warriors before he joined the UFCCredit: Dolly Clew/Cage WarriorsDan Hooker is another name who has been associated with Pimblett’s next opponent.
‘The Hangman’ got a special victory of his own at UFC 305 in August when he narrowly edged Mateusz Gamrot by split decision on the undercard of Dricus Du Plessis vs IsraelAdesanya.
Moicano claimed that Pimblett would be a harder opponent than Hooker in the build-up to his fight in Paris, but it is unclear how likely it would be for the 35-year-old to face either man should he get through Saint Denis.
MMA star Paddy Pimblett weighs himself for the first time since UFC 304 and now has to lose 19kg to make weight
A higher-ranked opponent would most certainly be the more attractive fight for Moicano.
Pimblett, who is a former Cage Warriors champion, was speaking to the promotion after supporting his teammate Luke Riley.
Liverpool’s Riley finished Alexandre Junior in the opening round of a featherweight bout to take his professional record to 10-0.
Read More on talkSPORTRiley trains with Pimblett and fellow MMA fighter Molly McCann at Next Generation MMA in Liverpool.
After his fight, Riley pleaded to Dana White and other matchmakers to bring him to the UFC after a scheduled fight on White’s Contender Series was cancelled because he had visa issues.