Bobby Green may have changed his name to King ahead of UFC 304, but in his fight there, he ran up against someone many are ordaining as a future king in his division.
King Green (32-16-1 MMA, 13-11-1 UFC) was put to sleep Saturday by Paddy Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in their lightweight bout, which was the featured fight on the main card at UFC 304 in Manchester – a home fight for Paddy “The Baddy.”
Pimblett’s win was his most impressive yet in the UFC and came against an opponent in Green whom many picked to be his first loss. Green posted on social media about a day after the loss and appeared to be focused on the likelihood he’ll get his fair share of trolling-type comments from fans.
“What a day. Thank you guys for checking in on me. I’m OK, I guess. Sh*t happens,” Green said in a video on his Instagram Stories. “I felt like I slipped into some sh*t and it all just went the perfect way. I had a bad night. No excuses. Sh*t happens. I live by a code: Kill or be killed. Today, I got killed. Let the ridicule begin. I know what comes with this. You guys can talk your sh*t. I know what comes with this. Let’s go.”
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Green was in three straight bonus-winning fights in 2023, including back-to-back knockouts of Tony Ferguson and Grant Dawson. Ferguson is a former interim lightweight champion, and Dawson was unbeaten before he ran into Green – who knocked him out in 33 seconds.
Green was knocked out by Jalin Turner in late 2023, but bounced back in April with a high-profile win over Jim Miller at UFC 300 in Las Vegas to give him three wins in four fights until Pimblett halted his hope for momentum.
With the bonuses doubled to $100,000 for UFC 304 in Manchester, UFC CEO Dana White elected to give Pimblett a double shot of extra cash for $200,000.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.