Paddy Pimblett’s Special Request to UFC for UFC 304 Fight

Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett once again is using his voice – this time, in less than regular circumstances. With his UFC 304 fight fast-approaching, the fan-favourite has one request for the higher-ups of the company; let him wear his iconic orange shorts.

It’s a request that isn’t often granted in the sport. However, with Manchester’s Octagon seeing Pimblett’s much-anticipated return to the cage having not fought since his win against Tony Ferguson in December 2023, it wouldn’t be entirely out of the question.

Paddy Pimblett’s Iconic Orange Shorts

The request itself isn’t surprising, especially given the fact the orange and white shorts have followed him throughout the course of his fighting career to date, which he revealed are inspired by UFC legend Kazushi Sakuraba.

Taking to Instagram, the Scouser shared a picture featuring the message he had sent alongside him wearing his iconic flamboyant shorts – which, to many, have become a staple piece associated with his victories.

“Yoyoooo am I getting my orange shorts then for UFC 304?” he said in a private message to Venum, UFC’s official outfitting partner. “Everyone wants to see me in them.”

Accompanied by the caption, ‘What’re we saying then?’, Pimblett went on to tag UFC President Dana White, Venum, and UFC’s official account.

UFC’s Dress Code

Despite the uniform rules UFC has in place, 2024 has seen changes in which athletes have been allowed to wear unique designs with new initiatives from Venum, taking over the apparel partnership from Reebok in 2021 – who prior held the partnership since 2014. Dana White has also welcomed custom shorts in the past – even going as far as tweeting about fighter Bryce Mitchell ‘FINALLY’ being allowed to showcase his iconic camo shorts in the Octagon back at UFC 272 in 2020.

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The pay-per-view card is scheduled to take place on the 27th of July in Manchester.

Pimblett’s post, which has over 50,000 likes, has received a flurry of supportive comments, with many fans welcoming the request, suggesting that custom shorts ‘make each fighter more unique,’ and others mentioning other fighters having their requests met, such as Ian Garry’s custom purple shorts at UFC 303, and Sean O’Malley’s pink shorts at UFC 299, and some going as far as creating petitions.

More prolifically, Cage Warriors – where Pimblett is a former featherweight champion, added smoke to the fire in saying: “We Are Starting The Petition,” along with re-posting Pimblett’s picture.

While UFC chiefs are yet to comment, could we be seeing a new era for the sport in which fighters are given increased free rein over their shorts? With Venum recently extending their outfitting partnership until 2029, we’ll have to wait and see.