Everton and England icon Wayne Rooney has offered his support to Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett and ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann ahead of their UFC 304 bouts. The Plymouth Argyle manager swapped their pre-season friendly with Torquay United for octagon-side seats in Manchester.
The mixed martial arts promotion returned to the North West for the first time since 2018, when Darren Till beat Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at the ECHO Arena. Tom Aspinall and Leon Edwards put their belts on the line as they look to continue their warpaths in the UFC.
Pimblett and McCann travelled down the East Lancs road to the Co-Op Live Arena with The Baddy on the main card while the Meatball looked to extend her win streak to two against Bruna Brasil. The pair starred at UFC London in March 2022 after their respective triumphs and Rooney, who made 117 appearances for Everton, was in attendance.
On Sunday morning, he was at the front of the action supporting the two Liverpudlians and sent them messages of support prior to their bouts. He told UFC Europe’s social media channels: “Hi just want to wish Paddy and Molly all the best tonight. Really looking forward to seeing it, excited and hopefully, you both get the win, all the best.”
In the build-up to fight night in Manchester, it was confirmed that Pimblett signed a new fight contract with the ultimate fighting championships. His manager, Graham Boylan, has confirmed his new deal in the UFC on the eve of his bout against Green: “The Baddy has signed a new deal with UFC he’s very happy to see his value has been acknowledged & handsomely rewarded. Congrats to all involved.”Everton defender James Tarkowski, who missed the Blues’ 2-1 defeat to Salford City through injury, and Wrexham star Paul Mullin were also in attendance in Manchester while the North West was well represented with Aspinall and Muhammad Mokaev, fighting out of Wigan, involved.
Everton to finish window ‘very strongly’ after takeover twist – Keith WynessEverton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted he expects Sean Dyche’s squad to look “very strong” at the end of the transfer window despite takeover concerns.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed there is “no short-term cash issue at the club right now”.
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