The biggest fighter the UFC has ever seen, and the biggest payday of my life
In the world of combat sports, where ambition and opportunity are often separated by a single fight, Paddy Pimblett has named his destination: Conor McGregor, at welterweight, on the largest stage the UFC can offer. The British fighter, rebounding from his first UFC defeat, is preparing to face Benoit Saint-Denis on July 11 as a co-main event to McGregor's own return — a proximity that has sharpened his appetite rather than satisfied it. What Pimblett is chasing is not merely a fight, but the kind of moment that redefines a career and a life, the rare intersection of timing, charisma, and readiness that combat sports occasionally allows.
- Pimblett enters UFC 329 carrying the weight of a January loss to Justin Gaethje, a defeat he has refused to let define him.
- The Saint-Denis bout on July 11 is framed as a necessary act of violence — a reset fight where both men come to finish, not to survive.
- Fighting in the same arena as McGregor has lit a fire: Pimblett wants the co-main event to become a stepping stone, not a ceiling.
- Moving up to welterweight solves a practical problem — no punishing weight cut — while opening the door to the sport's most lucrative matchup.
- The McGregor fight remains a long-shot aspiration, contingent on wins, profile-building, and the unpredictable logic of UFC matchmaking.
Paddy Pimblett will be inside the Octagon at UFC 329, but his ambitions extend well beyond his scheduled role. Serving as co-main event to Conor McGregor's return, Pimblett has made no secret of what he really wants — McGregor himself, at welterweight, in the biggest fight of his career.
The road there runs through Benoit Saint-Denis on July 11, a bout Pimblett approaches with the focused hunger of a fighter who has something to prove. His first UFC loss, a decision defeat to Justin Gaethje in January, has been reframed rather than buried — Gaethje later defeated Ilia Topuria, lending the loss a certain narrative dignity. Now Pimblett expects a direct, aggressive fight against Saint-Denis, one that ends either in a finish or a hard-earned decision, and either way restores his momentum.
The McGregor matchup appeals on multiple levels. At 170 pounds, Pimblett avoids the physical punishment of a weight cut. More significantly, he would be standing across from the fighter who has defined the UFC's commercial ceiling for over a decade — and collecting the largest paycheck of his career in the process. It is a dream grounded in genuine logic: Pimblett has the skills and the charisma, and McGregor's return creates a window.
But windows require work to reach. Pimblett knows he must build his record and his draw before McGregor's camp would consider him a viable opponent. In combat sports, stranger things have happened — but for now, Saint-Denis comes first, and the path to McGregor is cleared one fight at a time.
Paddy Pimblett is fighting at UFC 329, but his mind is already elsewhere. The British fighter will serve as co-main event when Conor McGregor makes his return to the Octagon, yet Pimblett has made clear to anyone listening that he wants more than a supporting role—he wants McGregor himself, and he's willing to move up in weight to make it happen.
Pimblett spoke about his ambitions ahead of his July 11 bout against Benoit Saint-Denis, a fight he approaches with the kind of hunger that comes after a setback. In January, he suffered his first UFC loss, dropping a decision to Justin Gaethje. Rather than dwell on it, Pimblett has reframed the loss as part of a larger narrative: Gaethje went on to defeat Ilia Topuria months later, suggesting the Highlight's victory was simply written in the stars. Now Pimblett is focused on getting back to winning, and he expects the Saint-Denis fight to be exactly what he needs—a violent, straightforward scrap between two fighters who came to fight, not to play it safe.
He envisions either a bloodbath that goes the distance or a quick finish with his hand raised. Either outcome works for him. What matters is momentum, and momentum leads somewhere bigger.
That somewhere is McGregor. Pimblett acknowledges the practical path: he'll likely need to work his way toward a title shot, and along that climb, a welterweight matchup with McGregor becomes possible. The weight class matters because it means no brutal cut for Pimblett—he can fight at 170 pounds without the physical toll of dropping to his natural weight. More importantly, it means fighting the biggest name in UFC history, the fighter who has defined the sport's commercial ceiling for over a decade. A McGregor fight would be the largest payday of Pimblett's career, a moment that could reshape his financial future and his place in the sport's hierarchy.
It's a dream that sits somewhere between realistic aspiration and long-shot fantasy. McGregor's return is happening, his profile is immense, and Pimblett is a rising fighter with genuine skills and charisma. But McGregor fights the biggest names and the biggest paydays, and Pimblett would need to build his record and his profile considerably to become that kind of draw. Still, in combat sports, stranger things have happened. For now, Pimblett has Saint-Denis on July 11, and after that, the path forward becomes clearer. One fight at a time, one win at a time, moving toward the moment when McGregor might finally look his way.
Citas Notables
Pimblett expects either a bloodbath or a quick finish with his hand raised against Saint-Denis— Paddy Pimblett to TMZ Sports
A McGregor fight at welterweight would represent the biggest payday of his career— Paddy Pimblett
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
You're talking about McGregor at welterweight, but you've got Saint-Denis first. How do you balance that focus?
You have to. Saint-Denis is real, he's in front of me, and I need the win. But you'd be lying if you said you weren't thinking about what comes next. The McGregor fight is the dream, but dreams don't happen without wins.
Your loss to Gaethje—you seemed to accept it pretty quickly. Why frame it as destiny rather than a mistake?
Because Gaethje beat me, and then he beat Topuria. That's not luck. That's a fighter who was just better that night and kept proving it. I learn from it and move on.
The weight class thing is interesting. Most fighters want to stay at their natural weight. Why does 170 pounds appeal to you?
No cut. You're already depleted when you step in the cage. At welterweight, I'm fresh, I'm strong, and I'm fighting the biggest name in the sport. That's worth the size difference.
Do you actually think McGregor fights you, or is this more about having something to chase?
I think if I keep winning and my name gets big enough, why wouldn't he? He fights for money and legacy. I could be both. But yeah, it's also about having a target. You need something to aim at.