Paddy Pimblett has promised to auction off his Rolex, gifted by rapper Drake, with the proceeds going to his newly-launched charity 'The Baddy Foundation'.
The UFC lightweight prospect takes on Jared Gordon tonight in his fourth bout under the promotion's banner, having stopped his last three opponents within the opening rounds. And his last victory over Jordan Leavitt, coupled with his teammate Molly McCann's win on the same night against Hannah Goldy, saw the musician win a whopping £3.1million on a double bet.
Drake rewarded Pimblett and McCann by gifting them both with luxury Rolex watches, believed to be a day-date piece that can sell for anywhere between £50,000 and £65,000. The fighter reckons that he can get even more from a collector who wants the added history of knowing that the watch, which is still in the box, was bought for him by the chart-topping rapper.
Speaking with ESPN MMA's social media team, Pimblett showed off his own Rolex that he purchased, saying: "This one I bought myself and it wasn't cheap either. To be honest, the Drake Rolex is still unworn and in the box, I'm going to auction that off for my charity.
"I want to get some funding for my charity and that's the first thing I want to do, I want to auction that watch off that Drake brought me. No disrespect to Drake, but I know for a fact that because Drake bought the watch for 'Paddy The Baddy' that watch will go for a lot more money."
What do you think of Paddy Pimblett's latest charitable gesture? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Pimblett launched his foundation earlier this week, telling fans in a social media post: "After mentioning it in my march post fight interview everyone has been asking me about it thinking I’m all talk and no action. Well it’s taken a lot of work behind the scenes from my team in Liverpool and Hollywood and mainly my manager Graham Boylan but it’s finally here and I’ll be helping everyone I can with The Baddy Foundation.
"Helping to feed kids who are struggling to be fed and eating from food banks and to help men with mental health issues to start talking and finally break this stigma that I’ve been talking about recently and help prevent so many suicides which is such an epidemic at the minute. If you can donate just $1 it will help me to make change possible."
Pimblett has previously said that when he begins to reach the big money paydays of an Israel Adesanya or Conor McGregor, he wants to assure that no child has to eat from a food bank any more. He has also pushed a message about men's mental health, which will be a key part of his foundation.
