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Two very different styles will clash during the main card of UFC 304 this weekend as Paddy Pimblett takes on Bobby Green in a huge lightweight contest.

“The Baddy” has gone to the scorecards in his last two fights after finishing his first three opponents inside the Octagon but he’s always dangerous.

Whilst the Englishman’s physical prowess and submission skills are a big threat, the dangers that Green presents are very different.

With this fight being the big number 50 on his pro record, the veteran lightweight contender is a slick boxer who often tricks opponents into overcommitting.

A former UFC champion believes that this could be the story of the fight come Saturday night in Manchester.

Alexander Volkanovski Expects King Green To Play The Matador Against Paddy Pimblett

During his breakdown of the card on his YouTube channel, former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski spoke about the difficulties of fighting someone like Green.

Green often carries his hands by his side and will rely on his reaction time to get opponents to throw at him so that he can slip and counter with his fast hands and combinations.

Pimblett has been working extensively on his striking in recent times and there have been questions in the past about how solid his technique is, when fists start flying.

Volkanovski sided with Green when giving his picks for the card and he believes that a crucial aspect of this fight will be the 155-pound stalwart playing his usual game.

“I’m going to have to go with Bobby Green, I think he’s the safer bet here. It’s going to be a three-round fight. Paddy Pimblett, yeah I find it, it’s going to be hard for him to take him down and get a finish. Can he go and upset, you know, hometown crowd. I don’t think that’s going to faze Bobby Green.

“Again, Bobby Green’s going to put himself in positions where Paddy Pimblett’s going to feel he can fire and going to lull him into shots. I guarantee we’re going to see that pretty much straight away. I feel Bobby Green’s going to hit him, hurt him, maybe Paddy Pimblett would start trying to look for the shots straight after that. Does he get them? Or does he get hurt straight away? I’m not sure.”

• Read More: UFC Commentator Surprised Paddy Pimblett Is Considering Influencer Boxing Ahead Of Last Fight On Contract: ‘One Of The Most Dynamic Grapplers…’

Continue Reading Former UFC Champion Picks Against Paddy Pimblett At UFC 304: ‘Bobby Green’s Going To Hit Him, Hurt Him’ at MMA News.

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On the first episode of UFC 304 Embedded, MMA’s No. 1 heavyweight Tom Aspinall shows off his humble training setup and an impressive mural, Belal Muhammad eats well ahead of the biggest fight of his career, Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann train together, and more.

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Brunno Ferreira needs a new opponent for UFC Vegas 96 after Roman Kopylov withdrew from the Aug. 24 card due to undisclosed reasons, multiple people with knowledge of the situation confirmed to MMA Fighting. Ferreira first announced the news on social media.

UFC has yet to officially announce Kopylov’s withdrawal or a potential replacement to face Ferreira at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The Brazilian middleweight told Sherdog that Abdul Razak Alhassan could step in as a replacement.

“My fight with Roman Kopylov is off, to many people’s delight,” Ferreira said on a video posted on Instagram. “When I say that Russians don’t want to fight me, that’s the absolute truth. This is the second time already. If they’re so good in grappling, why won’t they fight me?

“Shara [Magomedov] only fights on the feet, and now Roman Kopylov is the same thing. They only fight on the feet and they know I’m trouble on the ground and have knockout power too.”

Ferreira, 12-1 as a professional, scored back-to-back bonus-winning stoppages over Phil Hawes and Dustin Stoltzfus in 2024 to boost his UFC record to 3-1. All of his promotional wins have come via first-round knockouts. “Hulk” was scheduled to face Alhassan in 2023 but Alhassan ultimately withdrew from the bout.

Damon Martin contributed to this report

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Shots fired
| BJPenn.com

Not many have anything bad to say about Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson … unless you’re Joaquin Buckley (or Colby Covington).

Buckley, 30, has turned a new leaf inside the Octagon in 2024. The former viral sensation is starting to reach the potential seen in his unforgettable spinning heel kick knockout from 2020, leading Buckley to the No. 11 spot in Ultimate Fighting Championship’s (UFC) Welterweight rankings.

When Buckley returns to action he’ll seek his fifth consecutive win. That stretch of success would be the longest of his 25-fight career (19-6) since he started as a 6-0 prospect. When it comes to opponent possibilities, “New Mansa” likes the idea of Thompson, and he has his reasons why.

“I’m not even trolling on this one, but I really feel like ‘Wonderboy’ be putting on a role,” Buckley told Parry Punch. “He ain’t as nice as everybody try to claim him to be. I try to keep my personality the same with everybody. I feel like ‘Wonderboy’ gave me different kind of vibes. He definitely didn’t show me no love when I was out there at International Fight Week. Trying to confuse my words and all of these things to make me look goofy in front of his friends and sh*t. Like, okay, I got you. I let things be what it is.

“I feel like ‘Wonderboy’ is the Ellen DeGeneres of MMA,” he concluded. “Seems like the nice guy on camera, but behind closed doors, that motherf*cker’s an asshole, for sure.”

Despite a rough patch that’s seen him go 1-3 in his last four fights, Thompson (17-7-1) remains a top 10 ranked competitor as the No. 8-ranked UFC Welterweight. He last fought at UFC 296 against Shavkat Rakhmonov, who defeated him via a second round rear-naked choke in December 2023 (watch highlights).

Thompson quickly caught wind of Buckley’s comments and responded with the following.

“Must’ve forgot that time he asked me for technique advice and I happily gave it to him,” Thompson replied on Twitter. “That was like a month ago. Keep talking though [smiley face emoji].”

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Sean O’Malley is not trying to hear it from Conor McGregor.

The reigning UFC bantamweight champion tore into McGregor on Monday after the former two-division champ quote-tweeted a post about O’Malley’s prior drug test failures for ostarine with a laughing crying emoji.

In the original post, O’Malley discussed on his podcast a recent study sent to him by UFC drug-testing czar Jeff Novitzky that explores whether ostarine can be transferred through sweat, with O’Malley wondering whether that explains his testing failures for extremely low traces of the banned substance from 2018-19.

McGregor’s post belittling O’Malley and Novitzky’s discovery has since been deleted, but that didn’t stop the UFC bantamweight champ from going off on McGregor in response.

“Conor isn’t in anyone GOAT talk,” O’Malley wrote in one post. “Entertainment yes but skills, no. Has a really good left hand. Shit Cardio. Weak Jits. Decently athletic. Mentally weak. Drug addict, needs rehab. 1-4 last 5 fights. Still fan tho. Hope toe heals up.”

“I think he’s a bitch,” O’Malley added of McGregor in a follow-up message.

O’Malley’s full comments can be read below.

This is not the first time for McGregor and O’Malley.

Despite repeatedly professing his fandom for McGregor in the past, O’Malley found himself caught in the former champ’s crosshairs in May when McGregor included O’Malley in a tirade against Ryan Garcia following the boxer’s failed drug test for ostarine.

In June, O’Malley told MMA Fighting that he remained a fan of McGregor after the Irishman walked back some of his comments during a social media livestream.

“I’ll forever be a massive Conor fan,” O’Malley told MMA Fighting. “The biggest fan, watched his career play out, watched every single interview possible. I learned a ton from him. He’s a legend. That’s it. It is what it is.”

On Monday, that fandom was tested once again.

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Dana White’s MMA promotion is set to return to Manchester for the first time in eight years this weekend.

Co-headliners Leon Edwards and Tom Aspinall are getting the lion’s share of attention as they prepare to defend their respective belts at UFC 304 on Saturday night. 

However, there’s a stacked undercard full of talented British fighters, including Nathaniel Wood and ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann, that deserves some love too

Join LowKickMMA as we break down five preliminary bouts and the UFC odds before offering you an official prediction on how they will all play out.

Modestas Bukauskas vs Marcin Prachnio

Bukauskas being a -150 favorite doesn’t really sit well with us. 

It’ll be a competitive fight with Prachnio, who is the +125 underdog despite having a much more impressive record, which includes a win over Khalil Rountree Jr. 

The American infamously destroyed Bukauskas’ knee when they fought, but the London-based Lithuanian has done well to get back to full fitness and earn a second shot in the UFC.

Sadly, he’s a bit too hittable to ever mount a title challenge and we are backing him to lose in front of his home crowd when he takes on Prachnio this weekend.

Sam Patterson vs Kiefer Crosbie

Once again, we think the odds are slightly off for this fight. 

Patterson is the favorite, and we are backing him to win but to only get -333 on a 1-1 UFC fighter who was knocked out in his promotion debut is a bit wild. 

However, he is a level above Crosbie and will ultimately prove that to be true.

The +250 underdog won’t go down easy. He’ll be tough, durable and maybe go the distance before slumping to his second consecutive UFC defeat against Patterson.

Mick Parkin vs Łukasz Brzeski

Parkin is one of our surest picks of the entire UFC 304 fight card.

Tom Aspinall’s sparring partner hasn’t set the world alight since joining the UFC, but he’s picked up three wins and done so relatively easily.  

The -200 favorite should really be advancing towards the rankings. For some reason, he’s facing an opponent we’d consider a drop-down in level in his fourth Octagon outing.

With a 1-3 UFC record, Brzeski finds himself in a position where he is being used to launch a potential new star, but anything can happen in heavyweight MMA and that’s why he’s priced at +170.

Molly McCann vs Bruna Brasil

McCann appears to have found her fighting home at strawweight. 

‘Meatball’ put on one of her career-best performances in her divisional debut and one look at her social media tells you she’s been training hard for UFC 304. 

The shredded scouser is -300 to get the job done and we can’t see her clash with Brasil going any other way. That’s not to say that the -240 is a bad MMA fighter. 

McCann is just better, and it will ultimately show when they meet. 

Nathaniel Wood vs Daniel Pineda

Wood is one of the biggest favorites on the card at -500.

We think it’s because he’s much slicker than his opponent, Pineda, who has had an exciting four-fight run in the UFC but hasn’t shown he’s quite on the level of ‘The Prospect’. 

Some may fancy him pulling off an upset at +380. Not us. Wood is capable of making a run at the featherweight ranking and will show that in Manchester. 

You may need to decide if he’ll get it done by finish or decision to get worthwhile odds out of backing him. Maybe it’s best to just add Wood to a parlay like us.

LowKickMMA.com