UFC 304: King Green vs. Paddy Pimblett Fight Preview

British champions Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall will headline UFC 304 but the biggest fan favorite of the night will likely end up being Paddy Pimblett as he looks to settle his score with King Green.

As the biggest MMA star in the United Kingdom, Pimblett has fought in his home country twice before in the UFC but has not competed in Manchester since 2020 with Cage Warriors. Though Pimblett and Green have previously gone back and forth, the matchup was manifested by the 37-year-old after his last win at UFC 300.

King Green vs. Paddy Pimblett Tale of the Tape

King Green vs. Paddy Pimblett Fight Statistics

View the statistics for each fighter as they appear on UFC Stats ahead of their main event meeting at UFC 304:

King Green’s Last Fight

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Green will be fighting for the first time under his new legal name on July 27 after changing his name earlier in the month. In his last fight under his given name, Bobby Green, the lightweight veteran battered Jim Miller around the cage for three rounds en route to a dominant decision victory. After the fight, Green delivered a stellar callout of Paddy Pimblett, declaring that he would fight him at UFC 304 and got his wish granted just over one month later.

Despite mostly seeing inconsistent success, Green has seen his popularity and success surge late in his career to climb his way back into the lightweight rankings. Before the win over Miller, Green picked up signature wins over Tony Ferguson and Grant Dawson within the last year.

Paddy Pimblett’s Last Fight

Looking to win his eighth consecutive fight at UFC 304, Pimblett will face the biggest challenge of his career by welcoming King Green to Manchester. Pimblett improved to 21-3 at UFC 296 with a win over Tony Ferguson but despite notching a victory over the former interim champion, the Englishman received an abundance of criticism for handing a 39-year-old his seventh consecutive loss.

The win for Pimblett was his fifth in the Octagon to improve to 5-0 in the UFC. ‘The Baddy’ is unanimously beloved in the United Kingdom but is generally viewed negatively by American fans for his brash personality and unorthodox fight style. Many criticized the former Cage Warriors champion for his controversial win over Jared Gordon at UFC 282, causing most to enjoy Green’s callout of him at UFC 300.

Key Statistics

Both fighters are comfortable in all aspects of the game as well-rounded mixed martial artists but many see the bout as a classic striker vs. grappler matchup. Both are also non-conventional strikers but Green has built his style off of his irregular boxing approach predicated on keeping his hands by his waist, walking forward and consistently taunting his opponent. Even with his refusal to keep a high guard, Green has boasted an elite 62 percent striking defense in the UFC with his head movement.

Pimblett also tends to carry his hands low but relies more on his power than the speed that Green exudes. While he has knockout power, few men have been able to successfully find the chin of Green, making the Liverpool native’s best path to victory on the ground. Pimblett, a second-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has won 43 percent of his career victories by submission and is a better grappler than Green on paper, who is a brown belt.

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