Imagine being 16 and having a dream so vivid that you declare it to one of the biggest names in sports. That’s exactly what Paddy Pimblett did! The Liverpool native pulled off a first-round submission victory over  Bobby ‘King’ Green in one of the most important match-ups in his UFC career. With this win, he has maintained his unbeaten UFC run, Dana White revealed that a young Pimblett had reached out to him in 2011 with a bold prediction.

Becoming the first UFC fighter to submit Green in UFC, ‘The Baddy’ is now poised to make a run at the higher ranks of the lightweight division. This win also came hot on the heels of the news that the fighter has inked a new deal with the promotion, with the bout in Manchester at UFC 304, being his last on the current contract. To celebrate his success, he shared a tweet he made 13 years ago, on his Instagram alongside a video of Dana White praising him in the post-fight press conference.

The original tweet by Pimblett read, “Hi Dana I’m 16yrs old 5-0 NSAC amateur and and [sic] a bantamweight champ in the UK guess we will be doing business in the future.” Talk about manifesting your dreams into reality. This prompted Dana White to reshare the post in his Instagram stories with the caption, “Love this @theufcbaddy..”

Entering the fight, Pimblett was outside the top 15 of the lightweight division, with his last win coming against Tony Ferguson. Green was ranked 15th coming into the fight, but after his defeat, Pimblett replaced him in the 15th spot. This win also came with a $200k bonus from the UFC from Pimblett and White couldn’t stop praising him after the event.

It’s not often that someone’s childhood dreams come to fruition so clearly. But Pimblett’s rise from being a Cage Warriors featherweight champion to being one of the fastest-rising stars from the UK in the UFC is a testament to his skills and relentless pursuit of his goals. At the UFC 304 post-fight press conference, the UFC boss gushed with praise for ‘The Baddy’s performance as he stated, “Paddy is one of those guys that everybody talks s*** about and everybody wants to call him out, He keeps winning and he looked damn good tonight, that’s why he got the $200,000.”

Not only this but after his impressive showing, Pimblett was invited into the VIP room of the UFC President. Although his YouTube video shows him being called into the room, it doesn’t show the discussion between them. However, Pimblett revealed what White said to him.

He said, “Hear what he said to me? He said; ‘F****** hell. Asked for 100k bonuses and then there’s seven decisions in a row.’ He went, ‘You might end up getting all the f****** money.’  At the press conference, White announced that the fight night bonuses were increased from the original $50,000 to $100,000 following a request. However, in the post-fight interview, he clarified that he would be making no such increases in the future.

Pimblett had a perfect amateur MMA career before turning pro. He became a champion with Cage Warriors and stayed with them until 2021 before moving to UFC.

Undefeated in the UFC so far, Paddy Pimblett’s story has only just begun! Now, with a shot to break into the top 10 of the 155 lbs. division, ‘The Baddy’ recently shared his thoughts on what awaits him in the future.

‘The Baddy’ is ready for whatever the UFC throws at him next  

With the win over ‘King’ Green now in the books, Paddy Pimblett has called out Renato Moicano for his next fight in the division. Although ‘Money’ is currently scheduled to take on Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC Fight Night in September, during his post-fight interview, Pimblett stated, “Hopefully he gets through BSD and we’ll see if we can settle it before the end of the year or in the New Year.”

Moicano holds the number 10 spot in the division. If he manages to hold onto his ranking with a win over Saint-Denis, it’ll set up an interesting matchup against Pimblett next. During the UFC 304 post-fight press conference, Pimblett confessed that he is not taking his foot off the pedal with his new-found rankings. “Any fight is going to be a tough fight. Especially now, I’m looking up the rankings, so every fight I have now is going to be a tough fight,” the Liverpool native stated.

From a 16-year-old dreamer to a ranked UFC lightweight, Paddy Pimblett’s story serves as an inspiration for the fans and it remains to be seen what the next chapter brings for ‘The Baddy’. Do you think Paddy Pimblett will be able to break into the top 10 soon? Let us know your views in the comments below.