Paddy Pimblett doesn’t just want to beat Bobby Green. He wants to make him tap out.
UFC 304 is just weeks away and Pimblett and Green are set to collide at the pay-per-view event, with plenty on the line for both lightweights. Pimblett looks to keep his unblemished UFC record intact, while Green has the chance to derail the popular Scouser’s hype train.
There is plenty of bad blood between the two, though they disagree on who started it. In a recent YouTube video, Pimblett claimed that it’s Green who started them on this path and that he has a challenge for the standout striker.
“Bobby makes me laugh,” Pimblett said. “Makes me laugh the way he keeps saying, ‘Paddy mentioned me first.’ Lad, someone reminded me about this yesterday. Remember when I was in San Diego with my wife? And you were sitting two rows behind me. Videoing on Instagram live the back of my head, talking shit about me. Didn’t have the balls to come over and say nothing to my face. So who was talking about who first, lad? Definitely weren’t me. You was talking about me in 2021, 2022.
“But I also seen a story the other week, him saying, ‘Anyone can knock anyone out with a lucky punch. But Paddy, you’re saying you’re gonna submit me. You can’t submit me.’ Grapple with me then, lad. Back your word up. We both know that you can strike even though you’ve got no power. We both know that I’ll strike with you and that you can get knocked out. Grapple with me. Let’s see if you’ve got the balls to grapple with me after saying I won’t submit you. Come on. Let’s see.”
Pimblett has been in his fair share of back-and-forth standup battles since debuting with the UFC in 2021, but “The Baddy” has primarily been known for his grappling throughout his career. He owns nine career submission victories and aims to make Green the 10th.
On the other side, Green has proven to be incredibly difficult to submit throughout his career, with only two such losses on his record and the most recent occurring back in 2009. Coincidentally, Green also has nine wins by submission on his résumé, though with far more matches under his belt (49 to Pimblett’s 24).
Should the majority of their fight play out on the feet, Pimblett is prepared for that scenario as well.
“Just done a little fight run-through there with Liam, Liam Molloy, who’s a marvelous southpaw striker,” Pimblett said. “And he’s been doing Bobby Green’s style for me for the last couple of weeks in camp. To be honest, I think he’s a better striker than Bobby Green. He’s got better hands, got a longer reach. That fight run-through there, everything we’ve been working on, putting into practice, is working. And I just can’t wait to get in the cage and fight.
“I feel the fittest I’ve ever felt. Everything’s starting to fall into place at the right time. Weight’s dropped quite a bit this week. Dropped a couple of kilo. You can probably see it in my face. My fitness is great. I done six rounds of sparring yesterday. Six fives. Can’t wait to show everyone the improvements I’ve made over the last seven months since I fought Tony [Ferguson].”
Watch Pimblett’s UFC 304 vlog below.
UFC 304 takes place at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, on July 27.
