UFC star Paddy Pimblett at 18 almost quit MMA as he struggled to keep himself afloat. The British fighter, who showed glimpses of brilliance early in his career, earned meager wages, an issue that still gripped the young fighters. ‘The Baddy,’ who took the conventional route to UFC by pit-stopping at Cage Warriors, lacked the alternatives that exist today. PFL and Bellator have emerged as lucrative alternatives for fighters who have few fights under their belt.

However, some of the new signees crumble under the pressure. Meanwhile, fighters such as Pimblett arrive in UFC better adjusted and have experience fighting at the top. Therefore, Pimblett has successfully shielded his perfect record in promotion, despite some controversial hiccups. But it was not long before he was almost drawing curtains on his MMA career if his struggles with wages would have continued longer.

Paddy Pimblett opens up about low-pay troubles that almost made him quit

The 28-year-old appeared on SevereMMA, and shed light on whether he would have pondered on the prospect of joining PFL or Bellator in his early days instead of Cage Warriors.

The Liverpool native revealed the tossup between the modern options and Cage Warriors was a tougher decision. He then went down memory lane and disclosed he almost walked away from MMA when he was 4-1 in his career.

Thus, he said, “I mean, I was looking walking away from MMA at four and one [record]. Because I wasn’t getting paid enough. I mean, I was gonna quit MMA when I was 18 at like four and one. Because I wasn’t getting paid anywhere near enough.”

The lightweight fighter then admitted he only collected a few pounds to fight and hence could understand why fighters opted for PFL and Bellator. But this was not the case universally, as every fighter dreamt of fighting under the UFC banner.

Pimblett once only pocketed 500 pounds to fight

He continued and added, “I was getting paid like 500 pounds to fight or something stupid like that. And it wasn’t enough, so I can understand a lot of fighters now that are going to PFL and are going to Bellator.”

Following this, the 20-3 record holder opined 99 out of 100 fighters wanted to fight in the UFC. The only reason fighters signed with PFC, according to him, was trying to win millions with easy fights on offer.

Paddy Pimblett is coming off a controversial win against Jared Gordon at UFC 282. He currently boasts of a perfect 4-0 inside UFC since his debut in 2021.

Read More: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Tells Paddy Pimblett About His Scouser Manager Who Looted Millions From Him: “That Motherf***er Got Me From the Rip”

What do you think of this revelation by UFC star Paddy Pimblett? Do you believe wages remain an unaddressed issue in MMA? Let us know in the comments below.

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