Just in time for a trip to Manchester, the former Bobby Green had rechristened himself “King,” officially changing his name to King Green in advance of his fight with Paddy Pimblett.
The pair faced off in lightweight action on the main card portion of UFC 304, which unfolded in the wee hours of the AM on Sunday morning, to accommodate North American PPV buyers.
There was no love lost between the pair, making for something of a grudge match, as well as another test for Pimblett, a rising star in the company.
A lot of feeling out played out in the opening round of Pimblett versus Green, with kicks exchanged and little else. Finally, with about half the round remaining, things exploded in the blink of an eye. Green shot in on a double leg, which Pimblett answered by jumping into a guillotine. In a scramble, Pimblett got Green into a triangle, the squeeze getting tighter and tighter, and Green unable to extract himself from the increasingly perilous situation.
The submission was just too tight, and Green soon went unconscious, with Paddy Pimblett coming away with the biggest win of his UFC tenure to date.
“Statement made, bitches!” Pimblett exclaimed in the cage after his victory. “I’m the first person to submit Bobby in the UFC. That’s saying something. That’s a statement. To all you haters out there who said I would never get a ranking, what now?”
Pimblett now has wins over Jared Gordon, Tony Ferguson, and Green, among others, and called for a fight with Renato Moicano next.
Official Result: Paddy Pimblett def. King Green by technical submission (triangle choke), Round 1, 3:22
