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Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett is one of the fastest-rising stars in the UFC right now. His fights are drawing huge numbers and his YouTube clips like this one where he fights 10 US Marines bring in millions of views.
In a show of respect to Paddy Pimblett, UFC President Dana White sat down with ‘The Baddy’ for a UFC 282 preview discussion on YouTube. They talked about UFC Orlando, Jiri Prochazka’s shoulder injury, the new main event, UK accents, and more.
About 13 minutes into the vlog, Paddy Pimblett asks Dana White if Dana ever envisioned UFC coming this far. Dana White uses the opportunity to tell Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett about what’s next for the UFC. Here is video with full quotes below:
Paddy Pimblett: “Going back to the start when you first got involved with MMA and UFC, did you ever think it would get to these levels?”
Dana White: “Yeah, if you see interviews with me like 18 years ago I say ‘this is going to be the biggest sport in the world, it’s going to be global, it’s going to be this and that.’ I always believed that it would do this you just dont’ know… You can’t really wrap your head around it really happening and how big it’s really going to be.
“And that’s where we are and where we’re going still. We’re still going to do events in Africa. We’re going back to South Korea this year. You know we’re going to start moving around. Some of these events when we get back there… Some of these places we have either never been or we haven’t been back to in 3 or 4 years. Canada is one of them.”
Paddy Pimblett: “I was just about to say I have a few fans who are from Canada saying they can’t wait for us to come back to Canada.”
Dana White: “One hundred percent. So, as we start to go into these markets again I won’t miss one of those shows. Those are gonna be fun. The energy and the buzz will be insane and I’m looking forward to it in 2023.”
Paddy Pimblett: “Africa though? Is that definitely happening?”
It sounds like Dana White is telling Paddy Pimblett he wants to build a European soccer-like academy for future UFC fighters in Africa
Dana White: “I’m going to build a PI in Africa too. We’re still building the one down in Mexico. That’s coming along good right now. And then I want to build one in Africa.”
Paddy Pimblett: “Yeah? Have you any idea what country, or?”
Dana White: “We don’t know yet. That’s what we’re still looking at. I want to find a spot like we did in Mexico. We found a spot where it makes a lot of sense and where we can get a lot of… This isn’t going to be a PI like the PI here (Vegas). Like the PI here is for you guys, the professionals that come in.”
“I want to bring in kids off the street and get them to start training in mixed martial arts in the PI. And we’ll provide them with education on how to train, how to cut weight, all the things they couldn’t get without a facility like the PI. And it’ll all be free. Won’t cost them anything.”
“These are the kinds of things we do to help grow and build the sport and to make the sport bigger. Unlike boxing where every event is a going out-of-business sale and they tried to get as much money as they could and they invested nothing back into the sport. And look where the sport is today.”
Paddy Pimblett: “I’ve said that for years. UFC has taken over boxing. Because the cards are so slim people go just for the main events. You go to a UFC show, from top to bottom it is stacked.”
Dana White: “Orlando was a Fight Night. Did you see the early fights? The place was 95% full the first fight of the night. And the energy remained the same throughout the entire night because the card absolutely delivered.”
(Speaking about Pimblett now) “But that’s the difference and what happens is when we bring in guys… If you look at how fast you’ve grown, how much you’ve blown up in such a short period of time… And Sugar Sean O’Malley, the list goes on and on. Kevin Holland. All these guys that came in off the Contenders Series.”
“Once you get inside this machine you start to notice that everything starts to grow from your social media, sponsorships, etc etc. And you don’t have to become a world champion and defend your title six times before anybody knows who the f–k you are in the UFC. And that’s how it was in Boxing.”
Paddy and Dana hating in Ariel Helwani
It’s at this point that the conversation turns to Ariel Helwani and journalists earning a living off the backs of the fighters. Paddy Pimblett discusses how Ariel hates on him and Dana all the time while using them to make money in his journalism career. Here’s that segment:
Here is another segment of Dana White and Paddy Pimblett talking about the Wonderboy Stephen Thompson
Noticeably absent from Paddy’s vlog with Dana White was any mention of Jake Paul. It seems both Paddy and Dana are sick and tired of having to talk about Jake Paul these days.
Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett’s (19-3-0) next fight is against Jared Gordon (19-5-0) this coming Saturday at UFC 282 in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. Check it out!