Paddy Pimblett recently revealed that his return at UFC 304 will be the last fight on his current UFC contract.
Though it seems unlikely that "The Baddy", who has become a huge star in the promotion, will look to leave rather than re-signing, he did speak about the ability to make money in the boxing world.
Pimblett getting his hand raised on July 27 against King Green (formerly Bobby Green) in Manchester would make him undefeated in six Octagon appearances and will likely see him be ranked in the top 15.
From a negotiation standpoint, this gives him a lot of bargaining power to increase his purses when renewing his contract.
A fellow lightweight contender gave Pimblett some props for the way that he has handled business on the global stage.
Beneil Dariush Praises Paddy Pimblett For Holding Leverage In Future Plans
In a recent interview with Submission Radio, Beneil Dariush spoke about Pimblett's current contractual situation.
Rather than attacking the Scouse fighter for potentially looking to make the most money possible, Dariush spoke about this wave of fighters who use combat sports as a way to boost their own profiles rather than attempting to be the best in the world.
He says that whilst he isn't sure whether "The Baddy" came into the promotion with this plan in mind, Pimblett has made himself a big name which will follow him whether he's in the UFC or not.
Dariush gave credit to his fellow lightweight for potentially having the option on the table to go undefeated inside the Octagon, before walking away to explore a different path.
There's like this new idea going on in MMA. Get your name out there, become what I guess you would call an influencer, become an influencer, then you have the ability to make money anywhere, not just the UFC, sometimes you don't even have to fight. Paddy's definitely done that well. I don't know if that was his goal but obviously clearly he's gotten a lot of attention and he's got a lot of followers. That being said, that gives him a lot of leverage. A lot of leverage regarding negotiations.
"If he ends up winning this fight, I'm sure the UFC will work with him and they're going to match him but if not, he can also go anywhere else. That being said, if he ends up leaving, you gotta give him credit. If he wins all his fights and leaves, that's pretty amazing.