Benoit Saint Denis vs. Paddy Pimblet

BSD and Paddy Pimblet face off at 155 lbs. in UFC 329. This fight is going to be an absolute war and there's no way else I can put it. Both of these fighters love to come out hard and stay aggressive the whole fight, which is what everyone is expecting on Saturday. BSD, on a four-fight win streak with two submissions and two TKO/KOs, is looking to extend that in this fight. That's not going to be easy with the granite chin of Paddy Pimblet on the other side of the cage. Paddy is coming off 5 rounds of being dominated by Justin Gaethje, but he left that fight on his feet which shows everyone the dedication Paddy has when he steps on that canvas.

How Benoit Saint Denis Can Win

The God of War is coming off a four-fight win streak and is looking better each fight. In his fight against Dan Hooker, BSD started the fight with some takedown attempts which was smart to do against Hooker, but with how dangerous Paddy’s submissions are it would be wise to keep the fight on the feet to start. BSD is a strong grappler so I’m not going to be shocked when he takes Paddy down, but at some points it would be best just to let him up and not risk a submission during a scramble. He fought at a splintering pace during that fight walking down Hooker. That will be harder to do with Paddy on Saturday but that’s where he can throw in some takedowns to get some riding time. It is almost impossible to knock Paddy out but BSD can for sure wear him down during that fight. Keys for BSD are to apply pressure and be alert during scrambles, letting Paddy up isn’t a bad thing. I’m just really concerned with how reckless BSD can be and that is my main concern for him. Also rumors of a Staph infection won’t help him either.

How Paddy Pimblet Can Win

Paddy Pimblet has the toughest chin in the UFC. He showed that off in his title fight against Justin Gaethje, however he was dominated for almost all 5 rounds. Even in parts of that fight, we could still see the blistering pace and pressure Paddy puts on his opponents for the whole duration of the fight. Paddy will be able to absorb hits from BSD and connect on punches through that. Counters are going to be key for Paddy in this fight, being able to take some jabs then slip one and connect a few of his own. The ground game is where it’ll be interesting for Paddy if he is able to use BSD’s aggression against him and find a finish during this fight. BSD can be very reckless at times and with Paddy looking very sharp in his camp, he could punish BSD.

Prediction

The expectations for this fight for me are through the roof. I can’t wait for these two to go at each other. Both love to push the pace of fights and that's a script for a war. With that being said BSD has looked extremely sharp in this camp and that will show with his decision making in this fight. BSD is just too reckless at times, and I think he will be punished for that in this fight. Our pick Paddy Pimblet ML