Paddy Pimblett himself did not expect his battle with King Green to go so smoothly.
On Saturday night in Manchester, England, Pimbret put on the best performance of his UFC career, putting Green to sleep with a triangle and armbar combination in the first round of their featured lightweight bout at UFC 304. The end of the bout began when Green unexpectedly attempted a takedown early in the bout, a move Pimbret did not see coming.
“Yeah, I was surprised by the way he shot it,” Pimblett said in the post-fight press conference. “He’s been a great stand-up fighter, he fought Jalen Turner for three rounds against Jim Miller. [Rafael] “I played Fiziev and won in the final round. Everyone was talking about it leading up to the fight. So, yes, it was a surprise, but like I said, people underestimate me just because I look like a 14-year-old girl.”
On paper, Green looked like the toughest test of the young superstar's career to date. A respected veteran and ranked No. 15 in the UFC lightweight division, Green was widely believed to have the clear advantage on the stand-up entering the bout. But Pimblett says that proved that not to be true, as it was Green who made the decision to take up grappling, which Pimblett says was a natural talent.
“It was awesome!” Pimblett said. “Like I've been saying all week, people thought I was going to come straight at them but I told people I didn't need to. People underestimate my striking and don't think I can hit them. The striker came at me and I kept him on the edge of my range, on the edge of my jab, using kicks and stuff. I didn't even get a chance to land a head kick on him.
“I did a leg kick, he came charging, I took advantage, I switched to a guillotine, a triangle choke, and then I ended up taking the arm too. To be honest, I think the referee was a little slow. I think he was unconscious for a few seconds before I took the arm, because I jumped out of the cage and went on a rampage for about 30 seconds, and by the time I got back in he was still unconscious on the floor.”
This fight was particularly tough because it was Green's first time being submitted in a UFC fight, and not only was Green unconscious for a period of time, but Pimblett was concerned that he may have damaged Green's arm.
“There's no ill will whatsoever,” Pimblett said. “I just want to go into this fight with respect. This is one of those fights where you fight to put food on the table for your family and the fact that he lost the use of his arm. It was a little bit painful and it was awful. I just hope it's not too bad because I know he's active and he loves to fight whenever he can. So hopefully it's not a bad injury and he'll be fighting again soon. But I have nothing but respect for Bobby and I hope we can meet up and have a beer when we get back to the hotel.”
A win over Greene catapults Pimblett into the UFC's top 15 lightweight division, solidifying “The Buddy” for a title shot. After the bout, Pimblett demanded a fight against Renato Moicano, who is scheduled to face Benoit St-Denis at UFC Paris on September 28. But once that's over, Pimblett claims a bout with Moicano is what interests him most next.
“He's obviously ranked higher than me, but I think his preparation will be interesting,” Pimbret said of Moicano. Ultimate Fighter If he and I were coaches, it would definitely be comedy gold.”
