This past Saturday night on the main card of UFC 304, we saw a lightweight matchup with a ranking on the line. Entering the bout, King Green (32-16-1) was walking in with the 15th ranking meanwhile England’s own Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett (22-3) was looking to remain unbeaten inside the octagon while jumping into the rankings.
Entering the fight, I figured that Pimblett needed to get the fight to the mat given how good King Green’s striking was. Early on, Green was struggling a bit with the range of Pimblett. Pimblett was the much bigger and longer fighter who was able to stay at range using his kicks.
Pimblett ended up throwing a leg kick and shockingly Green shot for a takedown. Upon shooting for a takedown, Green found himself in a guillotine choke from Pimblett. Pimblett then transitioned to a triangle choke which ultimately doubled as a triangle arm bar. He choked Green out securing the massive win at UFC 304 and a spot in the rankings.
What’s next after UFC 304?
With this win, Pimblett is now 6-0 inside the octagon and he’s going to officially be in the rankings. Love him or hate him, his performance on Saturday night was incredibly impressive. Pimblett had a lot of doubters based off his last two performance, but he silenced a lot of critics and now he’ll focus on ranked competition.
Pimblett did have a name he was interested in after his UFC 304 win. Paddy The Baddy called for a fight with Renato “Money” Moicano. That would be a perfect fight for Pimblett, but Moicano is already booked for his next fight. Moicano will take on Benoit Saint-Denis in the headliner of UFC Paris in September.
Regardless of the outcome, Pimblett – Moicano could still be the fight to make. One matchup to potentially watch is one with Rafael Dos Anjos. The former lightweight champion has been bouncing between lightweight and welterweight at this stage of his career. He’s currently ranked 14th in the division and he’s coming off a loss to Mateusz Gamrot. RDA would be a good test for Pimblett.