Paddy Pimblett made a huge statement at UFC 304, scoring an easy first-round submission of King Green in under four minutes and likely clinching a spot in the UFC's lightweight rankings.
After Pimblett nailed Green with several low kicks early in the fight, the veteran American made a questionable decision by trying to take down "The Baddy," who is a grappling expert. Pimblett countered with a guillotine before transitioning into a triangle choke, which Pimblett told ESPN MMA's Megan Olivi after the fight is his favorite kind of submission.
As Pimblett looked for an armbar, Green could be seen unconscious, giving him a submission win.
When Pimblett reflected on how the fight played out, he expressed concern that others might move the goal posts and say that Green, who was ranked No. 15, is not the kind of quality opponent to get him into the rankings.
The Liverpool native, however, had a counterargument in mind.
First person in the UFC to submit Bobby Green, and that's like his 25th UFC fight or something like that," Pimblett said. "Even Islam [Makhachev] couldn't do that. But people are going to keep underestimating me. People are going to move the goal posts now and say, 'Oh Bobby is finished, Bobby this, Bobby that,' when last week it was, 'Bobby's going to beat Paddy up. Bobby's going to do this to him, he's going to do that, he's going to dog-walk him.' What happened?
Paddy Pimblett May Be Cageside For Renato Moicano vs. Benoît Saint Denis In Paris After UFC 304 Win
In the Octagon at UFC 304, Pimblett called out Renato Moicano for his next fight. Though the two have had exchanges on social media, the Brazilian s currently booked to face Benoît Saint Denis in Paris on September 28.
While Pimblett hopes to be placed at No. 10 in the rankings, he will take being at No. 15, as he looks up toward other contenders to continue his momentum and rise up the 155 ranks.
Before this Bobby Green fight got made, me and Renato were speaking about each other on Twitter," Pimblett said. "A lot of people up front of me in the rankings can't really say no. The only thing about Renato now is that he's got a fight. He's fighting BSD in Paris. You never know, might end up going out there. Might end up being cageside for that.
Moicano and Saint Denis are set to headline the upcoming UFC Fight Night in the French capital, with the former looking to build on his momentum from a knockout of Jalin Turner at UFC 300 and "God of War" hoping to bounce back from his loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 299.