Bobby
Green’s ability to roll with the punches, literally and
figuratively, has brought him steady work with the
Ultimate Fighting Championship for nearly a decade.
The former
King of
the Cage champion will carry a 10-8-1 promotional record into
his
UFC Fight Night 216 lightweight showcase opposite
Drew Dober on
Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Green, 36, has rattled off
five wins across his past eight appearances. He last competed at
UFC Fight Night 202, where he succumbed to punches from
Islam
Makhachev in the first round of their Feb. 26 encounter.
As Green approaches his forthcoming battle with Dober at 155
pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped shape his
career to this point:
The Massachusetts native withstood three low blows and put away
Green with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their
Affliction “Day of Reckoning” confrontation on Jan. 24, 2009 at the
Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Lauzon drew the curtain 4:55
into Round 1. Green attacked his counterpart with knees, kicks and
punches on the feet and also managed to execute a suplex. At times,
however, he was his own worst enemy. Referee
Herb Dean had
to pause the bout three times due to the aforementioned fouls and
eventually docked Green two points for his infractions. Lauzon
later indicated he did not believe the low blows were intentional.
It remains one of only two submission defeats on Green’s
resume.
Green made the most of a grand opportunity when he took a split
decision from the former
Strikeforce
champion in a UFC on Fox 12 lightweight showcase on July 26, 2014
at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. All three judges struck
29-28 scorecards: Michael Bell for Thomson, Edward Collantes and
Wade Vierra for Green, who served as a short-notice substitution
for the injured
Michael
Johnson. Thomson was largely reduced to a tentative
counterfighter by the former King of the Cage titleholder. Green
marched forward with quick hands and resolute purpose, consistently
pushing the
American Kickboxing Academy export away from the center of the
cage. Thomson did his best work in the second round, where he
secured a takedown, maintained a busy pace and found a consistent
home for his right hand. Sustained success, however, proved
elusive. Green utilized leg kicks, a strong jab and a steady diet
of punching combinations during the 15-minute scrap. He opened a
cut near Thomson’s right eye with a left hook in the third round
and refused to allow “The Punk” to get comfortable, as he kept his
back to the cage and pressed forward with punches and kicks.
The
Jackson-Wink MMA rep fought to a split draw with Green as part
of the UFC 216 undercard on Oct. 7, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las
Vegas. Derek Cleary scored it 28-28, while Jeff Mullen and Marcos
Rosales saw it 29-27—Mullen for Vannata and Rosales for Green.
Neither man appeared disappointed with the result. Vannata nearly
finished it in the first round, where he floored his adversary with
a slashing right hand and pounced with ground-and-pound. However,
an illegal knee strike—Vannata’s thigh careened off the former King
of the Cage champion’s head—cost the Greg Jackson protégé a point
and afforded Green time to recover. The second and third rounds
gave rise to a wild back-and-forth firefight in which both
lightweights were in trouble on multiple occasions. Vannata’s face
was a mess by the time it was over, as Green exacted his toll with
stiff jabs, crisp left hooks and clubbing right hands. They met for
a second time nearly three years later when Green settled the score
and laid claim to a unanimous decision in their UFC Fight Night 173
rematch.
The
American Top Team export captured a contentious unanimous
decision over Green in their featured UFC Fight Night 181
lightweight attraction on Oct. 31, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las
Vegas. Moises swept the scorecards with matching 29-28 marks from
all three judges. Popular opinion seemed to side with Green, who
maintained a steady pace and struck in combination with punches and
kicks. However, he failed to exact much of a visible toll on the
Brazilian. Moises opened a significant cut above the former King of
the Cage champion’s right eye, held serve in the scrambles,
threatened with a series of leg locks in the second round and mixed
in a few takedowns to keep the American guessing. All of it
conspired to undermine Green.
Green authored his first finish in exactly eight years and wasted
little time in doing so when he took care of “The Ultimate Fighter”
Season 15 finalist with first-round punches as part of the UFC 268
undercard on Nov. 6, 2021 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Iaquinta met his end 2:25 into Round 1, suffering the first
knockout loss of his 22-fight career. Green lured the
Serra-Longo Fight Team standout forward and sprang his trap. He
decked Iaquinta with a jab-cross combination, sprawled out of a
desperation takedown attempt, moved to a dominant position and
closed out the former
Ring of
Combat champion with punches and hammerfists.