Benoit Saint Denis vs. Paddy Pimblett preview & breakdown UFC 329
Two top quality Lightweight fighters will be competing in the penultimate fight at UFC 329, with Paddy Pimblett taking on Benoit Saint Denis just under Irish star Conor McGregor vs Max Holloway. There’s one element of both fighter’s careers to date that I can really see dictating this one, and it all comes down to Saint Denis’ volume of takedown attempts, and Pimblett’s 44% takedown defense (via UFCStats).
Saint Denis is going to have to try and attempt takedowns against Paddy The Baddy, as both of Saint Denis’s stoppage losses came against other decent strikers (Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano), so he’ll want to try and negate that element of Pimblett’s arsenal as soon as possible. But, those 4.19 takedowns per 15 minutes come with a 100% career finish rate across all 17 wins in Benoit’s career, so he has a great chance to run down the clock and win via decision if he can control Paddy up against the cage and on the canvas with his wrestling or go for a submission.
But, Saint Denis will have to be very careful on the ground, as although Paddy prefers to keep his fights standing, he is a second-degree BJJ black belt, so those takedowns need to go straight into decent positions for Benoit otherwise he could be in trouble quickly.
Could the winner face Justin Gaethje?
The stakes of this one are pretty big too, potentially. The winner of this fight could get a 155lb title fight in 2027, and with Pimblett already having a barnburner with Justin Gaethje at UFC 324, the company will be more than happy to run that back for the Lightweight belt.
If Saint Denis wins this though, I think Gaethje will get Arman Tsarukyan or Charles Oliveira next. But, if Paddy The Baddy has a huge knockout here, I think he gets the nod for Gaethje’s first defense, purely because of the quality of their last fight.
Benoit Saint Denis vs Paddy Pimblett Stats
| Metric (UFCStats career) | Saint Denis | Pimblett |
|---|---|---|
| Sig. strikes landed/min (SLpM) | 5.62 | 5.49 |
| Striking accuracy | 58% | 52% |
| Sig. strikes absorbed/min (SApM) | 4.09 | 3.89 |
| Strike defense | 42% | 42% |
| Takedowns/15 (TD Avg.) | 4.19 | 0.69 |
| Takedown accuracy | 35% | 21% |
| Takedown defense | 72% | 44% |
| Submission avg/15 | 1.8 | 1.2 |
Where Saint Denis wins
The gap in their grappling really is massive, with Saint Denis usually opting to chain takedowns off the fence and hunt the submission (11 of his career finishes are submissions). Benoit’s average fight lasts 7:10 because he likes to end things early, whereas Pimblett’s runs to 10:56.
If Saint Denis is able to drag Pimblett to the mat against his will, then he will start to bank the rounds and frustrate Paddy. A 44% takedown defense against a pressure southpaw wrestler is the ugliest matchup on paper that Pimblett has faced so far in his UFC career, so Benoit HAS to exploit that.
Where Pimblett wins
As I’ve also said, Pimblett is a second-degree BJJ black belt who is comfortable on the ground, but only if he NEEDS to be. With ten career submissions (like that triangle on King Green) and a knack for flipping bad positions into finishes when it comes down to it.
On the feet, Saint Denis absorbs 4.09 strikes per minute and defends just 42%. Pimblett just went 25 hard rounds with Justin Gaethje, and he more than proved that his chin and cardio are top draw.
I really think that style-wise this is a lot closer to a coin flip than the odds are suggesting, but it’s going to be the round-one grappling exchanges that will determine how this fight goes.
Jake is the Head of Audience at F4WOnline, having previously worked as a Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief and Sports Coordinator. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012.
He previously also worked for PROGRESS Wrestling as Head of Media as well as working on the social channels of the company.