Jake Paul has blasted UFC star Paddy Pimblett's management after claiming he is being "pimped" by the promotion with his current £9,000 contract.
Pimblett admitted he was paid just $12,000 to fight Kazula Vargas on the main card of a sold-out UFC London event, which is said to have drawn the biggest gate in the 15-year history of The O2 arena. He earned another $12,000 for winning, and his finish earned him a further $50,000 bonus.
But had things gone wrong for the Liverpool fighter, he would have been paid just his show money, which amounts to around £9,000. Paul believes that this is a fundamental issue with the promotion, and has argued the case for how the base salary should be more than four times the amount it currently is.
"Paddy Pimblett getting pimped," Paul tweeted after learning of Pimblett's payout. "Who manages these guys?" It came just a day after he posted about fighter pay issues, stating: "UFC always says it’s increased fighter pay 600 per cent since 2005. Per Huddle Up, UFC revenue is up 1,700 per cent since '05 and PROFITS up by 6,200 per cent - 10x fighter pay!!!"
Pimblett was speaking to Barstool Sports, where he has a seven-figure contract as a content creator and brand ambassador, when he revealed that he was paid $12,000 to win and $12,000 to fight. A social media post claiming he earned into the six figures for the fight was disputed publicly by Pimblett and his manager Graham Boylan.
For his part, Pimblett has requested a new contract in exchange for fighting a higher level of opponent, telling reporters that he would be willing to face a top 15 challenger only if he was paid better. "Without being a big-headed tool, I am the star of the show,” Pimblett told reporters after his win.
“It’s that simple. Expect me to take over the show. I told you this. This is the ‘Baddy’ show. Swept the O2 right up. I wouldn’t take a top 15 fight, I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t. Add some more zeroes to my contract and then I will. I think I proved tonight that I deserve a new contract. Not this little standard one.”
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Paul has previously argued that the UFC should be paying every fighter on every card a minimum of $50,000 to fight. He even offered to fight for that amount in a potential MMA debut if the promotion were willing to commit to making it the new base payout.
He told Dana White in a tweet at the start of the year that he would fight Jorge Masvidal in an unfavourable match-up if they implemented the change by this month. "Happy New Year, Dana White," he wrote on Twitter. "Here is a real challenge for you. I will immediately retire from boxing and fight Jorge Masvidal in the UFC if you agree to:
- Increase min fighter pay per fight to $50K (it's $12K now)
- Guarantee UFC fighters 50 per cent of UFC annual revenues ($1bn in 2021)
- Provide long term healthcare to all fighters (you previously said brain damage is part of the gig...imagine the NFL said that) There are many UFC alums who have publicly said they are suffering from brain damage"
The UFC's parent company Endeavor have said that they are working on fighter pay, with boss Ari Emmanuel saying on a call last week: "We think we’ve done very, very well. And as the revenue for the business increases has only benefited that business, and we’ve grown and the sport has grown and fighter pay has grown too, as I said, how much it’s gone up since 2005."
