Paddy Pimblett vs. Jordan Leavitt: UFC Fight Night 208 Odds, Prediction

Lightweights Paddy Pimblett and Jordan Leavitt are both unranked because they are each fairly new to the UFC, but this promises to be an exciting bout between two up-and-coming fighters.

Pimblett is a -300 favourite to win on the MMA odds, while Leavitt is a +215 underdog.

Paddy Pimblett UFC Fight Night 208 Odds

The 27-year-old Pimblett is 18-3 in a professional career that dates back to 2012.  A former Cage Warriors featherweight champion, Pimblett has won his last four fights.  He’s only fought twice in the UFC, but both fights were first-round finishes that earned him Performance of the Night bonuses.  Pimblett defeated Luigi Vendramini via KO (punches) last September and used a rear-naked choke to submit Rodrigo Vargas in March at The O2.

“The Baddy” has eight career wins via submission, six via KO/TKO and four via decision.  He tends to be a wild striker who leaves himself open, which has led to some commentators wondering if he can legitimately be a championship-calibre fighter, or if he’s more of an entertaining show.

Through two UFC fights, Pimblett is averaging 6.07 significant strikes landed per minute and he will have a two-inch reach advantage against Leavitt.  His grappling is also solid as he averages 1.82 takedowns and 1.82 submissions per 15 minutes.  This will certainly be a step up in competition for Pimblett, but the charismatic fighter has shown he’s ready for bigger and better fights.

Jordan Leavitt UFC Fight Night 208 Odds

Leavitt has slightly more UFC experience than Pimblett, but not nearly as much professional MMA experience.  The 27-year-old American is 10-1 in his MMA career, including 3-1 since his UFC debut in 2020.  Leavitt’s first UFC fight ended with an absolutely brutal 22-second slam KO win over Matt Wiman.

“The Monkey King” suffered his only career loss via unanimous decision against Claudio Puelles.  Leavitt followed that up with a with an inverted triangle choke to submit Matt Sayles last December and he was last in action in April, defeating Trey Ogden by split decision.  He has six career wins via submission, three via decision and one via KO/TKO.

Pimblett is a skilled grappler, averaging 1.8 takedowns and 1.44 submissions per 15 minutes.  His striking is improving, but he still averages just 2.49 significant strikes landed per minute.  Pimblett lacks knockout power and he’s not particularly aggressive, so you can bank on him taking his chances on the ground against another another elite grappler.

UFC Fight Night 208 Prediction: Paddy Pimblett vs. Jordan Leavitt

This is a win-win for both fighters as Pimblett needs to face tougher opponents and Leavitt needs to get matched up against bigger names.  While Pimblett’s aggression makes him vulnerable to costly mistakes, Leavitt likely isn’t the fighter capable of making him pay for those mistakes.  Pimblett wins by first-round KO/TKO.