For UK-based MMA fans, watching UFC 304 live as it happened late Saturday night (early Sunday morning) was always going to be a challenge. Having a main card begin after 3:15 am local time isn’t easy for even the most devoted fans of competitive violence to ward off a visit by the sandman.
Still, Dana White‘s staff constructed a card that was worth staying up close to sunrise to watch. An event predicated on locally-based stars meant that those fans who bought tickets for UFC 304 at Co-op Live in Manchester suddenly didn’t care that they’d be losing out on important overnight rest in order to watch combat sports action.
One such local talent appearing during UFC 304 early Sunday was Paddy Pimblett. Having joined the UFC‘s active roster in September of 2021, his fight against King Green [formerly known as Bobby Green] this weekend was undoubtedly his most critical 15 minutes (or less) of action in the organization. Heading into UFC 304, Pimblett’s contract with the UFC had been set to lapse with the contest against Green, before he inked a new deal earlier in the week.
Pimblett Impresses in 25th Career Fight
Paddy Pimblett’s appearance versus King Green was his 25th career MMA appearance and sixth since joining the UFC. Despite the high stakes that come with the pay-per-view spotlight, he hit the jackpot with a first-round submission win (triangle choke.)
After the fight, Pimblett mentioned that the submission hold was tight enough to break Green’s arm.
“In this game, I like to be respectful,” Pimblett began. “We’re fighting to put food on the table for our families, and the fact that his arm went. I felt it, I felt a little crunch and nasty. I just hope it isn’t too bad, because I know he likes to be active and he likes to fight as much as he can.”
In so doing, Pimblett became the first opponent to submit Green since the latter joined the UFC in February of 2013.
“The Baddy” On His Doubters
During an interview with Megan Olivi that aired on the post-fight show on Saturday night, Pimblett had a message for those fans who still don’t believe in him.
“People are going to keep underestimating me,” he said. “People are going to move the goalposts now and say ‘Oh, Bobby was finished, Bobby’s this, Bobby’s that,’ where last week, it was ‘Bobby’s going to beat Paddy up, Bobby’s going to do this to him. He’s going to dog-walk him.’ What happened? What happened?”
A smile crept on Pimblett’s face. This is a man who’s fought in half the number of contests that Green has, with Saturday’s bout being the latter’s 50th professional appearance.
Pimblett Now Firmly a Superstar
If you didn’t realize it before UFC 304 happened on Saturday night, it would behoove you to realize it now: Paddy Pimblett is the next marquee name in the 155-lb. division. Three years ago on this date, “The Baddy” had yet to make his promotional debut in the UFC, with the Sept. 4, 2021 date still a month or so away at the time.
In less than three full years, Pimblett is every bit as advertised and more. Not only did he take home the win on Saturday night during the show, he’s also got some new funds secured during the fight’s aftermath.
Paddy “The Baddy” Scores $200K After Submission Win
During the post-fight press conference, Dana White announced that Pimblett was one of three contestants to pocket the Performance of the Night Award, but he wound up scoring $200,000 (USD) for his efforts. Under normal circumstances, the Performance of the Night Award is worth $50,000 (USD) to the recipient, but was increased to $100,000 for UFC 304.
"100K each for the babies!" 👶👶@PaddyTheBaddy reacts to hearing he just won $200,000 for his POTN bonus! 💰 #UFC304 pic.twitter.com/RieRMSmgwg
— UFC (@ufc) July 28, 2024
“Paddy is one of those guys that everyone talks (expletive deleted) about and everybody wants to call him out,” White mentioned. He keeps winning and he looked damn good tonight, that’s why he got the $200,000. I mean, I don’t think Bobby Green has been submitted since like 2009. So congrats to him; that’s a guy that came out tonight and looked like he wanted an extra $100,000.”
With Paddy Pimblett, what you get is what you see. What we’ve gotten to see from him over the course of the last three years has been simply amazing stuff.
Final Thoughts
Pimblett is a fighter who’s not only winning in the cage, but he’s also winning in the game of life. A few months ago, Paddy “The Baddy” became Paddy The Daddy to twin girls.
He won’t be turning 30 years of age until Jan. 3, so he could be peaking at just the right moment. Stay tuned. You’re not going to want to miss how his story continues to play out over the course of the next several years.
