We caught up with Paddy "The Baddy" as the star MMA fighter prepares for his upcoming bout vs. Bobby "King" Green at UFC 304 in Manchester, England. A fight, for Pimblett, which could mark the last with Dana White's promotion ... 'cause it's the last on his deal.

Paddy's been asked about his future in recent interviews, and some have perceived him to be signaling a desire to go elsewhere.

Pimblett, however, tells us that's just BS!

"I want to be in the UFC, the pinnacle of the sport," he said.

"No other MMA promotion comes near it. I said something in an interview the other day, and they put it out of context and put a post up like I wanted to leave the UFC. It's crazy how people don't actually listen to the interview and just jump on that one little thing that's being posted."

Paddy seems to leave no doubt with his answer ... he's happy where he is.

Looking to his fight against Green, Pimblett says he isn't intimidated by the 15th-ranked UFC vet's trash talk, even calling the lightweight "arrogant."

"That's just him," Paddy said. "It's his personality, he just says things. I'll leave him to it."

While Paddy said he's looking forward to "punching his face in," ... he's also excited to be fighting close to home in his native country of England.

"It's nice to be local," he said. "It's nice to be back home. Even the shows we've done in the past they've been in London, which is like a four-hour car journey away. Manchester is like 30 minutes."