Athletes
Bobby Green Has Always Been True To Himself
Veteran Lightweight Discusses Longevity And His Role In The Division Ahead Of His Main Event Clash With Grant Dawson On Saturday
As we get older, our tastes change, our palates mature, and the overall collection of things we like shifts.
Music and films that we missed during our youth or simply weren’t all that into sound different, look different, and resonate in a different way. New foods become favorites, while old staples fall out of the rotation. Craft beers or a nice pinot noir with hints of stone fruit and oak replace the cans of Old Milwaukee and cheapest bottle on the shelf that always used to do the trick.
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And on the fighting front, it feels like a great number of fans have grown to appreciate the efforts and message of veteran lightweight Bobby Green much more over the last couple years.
“Man, it feels like it’s about 10 fights too late,” laughed Green, stretched out in his bed at the fighter hotel on Wednesday morning, just a couple days prior to his main event showdown with Grant Dawson at the UFC APEX. “I’m old as s*** and it’s like, ‘Now you guys are catching on? I’ve been trying to push this message and give this positivity and be this fighter,’ and now that they’re finally catching on, I’m all beat up and worn from all this stuff.”
The Inland Empire native lets out another little raspy laugh, continuing to wipe the sleep from his eyes.
“But just the fact that people get it is a blessing.”
Two years ago, prior to his fight with Al Iaquinta at UFC 268 in New York City, I called the 37-year-old lightweight “a book that is perennially judged by its cover,” suggesting that too many folks wouldn’t see past the manicured beard, tattoos, and gold accessories to see the man that grew up in foster care and dealt with unspeakable traumas in order to become a leader in his community and advocate for positivity and togetherness.
Order UFC 294: Makhachev vs Oliveira 2
As a fighter, they got lost in the swagger and the style — the hands low, the in-fight commentary, the somersault into the Octagon and “Triple H” water-blow victory celebration — and couldn’t see the fierce competitor and dynamic all-around talent, one who flirted with the Top 10 early in his UFC run and has been a fixture on the fringes of the rankings ever since.
But as a generation of familiar names and legends slowly wrap up their careers and struggle to find consistent success in the Octagon, Green’s enduring presence as a perpetually entertaining fighter and constant challenge for anyone that steps in with him seems to be forcing people to reevaluate their thoughts on the man.
Bobby Green | Career Retrospective
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Bobby Green | Career Retrospective
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Now, after more than 15 years and 46 fights, he’s set to headline for the second time in his UFC career, fresh off an outstanding performance against Tony Ferguson and, this time, it’s not a hand-me-down main event either.
“I’m honored, brother; I’m honored to finally get the respect that they’re giving me as the main event,” said Green, who called his main event assignment opposite Makhachev “bittersweet” because of the short-notice nature of the pairing when we spoke prior to that fight.
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He’d always wanted to be on a poster, and now he was, but only as a last-minute replacement. This time, however, he’s been one half of the main event and featured on the poster from the jump, and it’s obvious what this opportunity and the overall moment he’s enjoying means to him.
“It means that I’m doing something right, that the company can trust me to headline and put on a good show.
“Man, it’s great — it’s f****** great,” he added when asked about continuing to thrive this far into his career. “This is what I do. It’s what I do for my family, and family is the most important thing to me. To take care of my family, I’ll do anything.”
This weekend, the veteran believes he has a difficult task in front of him, but he’s up for the challenge.
“I think my biggest challenge is to see if I can make a boring kid exciting,” he said of his pairing with Dawson, a smirk painted on his face. “That’s the biggest thing for me to do is make it exciting.
“Nothing excites me about going in there with this guy; he’s boring to me,” continued Green. “To be honest, I never even heard of him until I got the fight. I was like, ‘Who is this kid? He’s Top 10?’ And it’s because he hasn’t made any waves. His style isn’t going to get you to ooh and aah.”
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The 29-year-old Dawson is a grinder, through and through, having amassed 82 takedown attempts through his first nine UFC appearances while posting an 8-0-1 record.
Although he’s earned finishes in five of his eight victories and enters this weekend’s main event on a run of success that includes bouncing Mark O. Madsen from the ranks of the unbeaten on short notice and thoroughly out-working Damir Ismagulov, the low-profile American Top Team representative is someone whose name doesn’t come up as quickly as others when discussing the top emerging talents in both the lightweight division and the promotion, as a whole.
Main Event Preview | UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs Green
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Main Event Preview | UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs Green
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Whether that’s because of his style, the fact that he’s yet to face a truly high-profile opponent, or some combination of additional factors, Saturday’s pairing with Green is clearly a massive opportunity for the ascending Dawson, but a key test, as well.
Larry Merchant famously called Joe Frazier a “truth machine” following his first meeting with Muhammad Ali in 1971, suggesting in his column the next morning in the New York Post that Frazier “lets you find out what you have inside of you” and that “it’s going to take an honest man made of stern stuff to beat him.”
I read the quote to Green and told him I believe it applies to him as well, and the sleepy veteran lightweight was suddenly wide awake.
“Man, that’s some deep s***,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s so f***** hard. I love that. That’s awesome, and I believe that, I really do. I’m very tested and you’re gonna find out who you are.”
Green isn’t the best fighter in the lightweight division, but he’s one of those lunchpail guys that is going to turn up for work every single day, give you his all, and force you to be at your very best in order to beat him.
You can’t skate by against Bobby Green; you have to be dialed in.
“If they’re not, they get weeded out,” he said.
Green made his professional debut on January 19, 2008, collecting a third-round knockout win over Neal Abrams at Total Fighting Alliance 9 in Santa Monica, California.
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On Saturday night, 5,741 days after dispatching Abrams to record his first career win, he’ll make the walk again — still confident in his skills, still eager to entertain, and still chasing reaching milestones that mean the world to him.
“This is a rollercoaster,” he said, reflecting on his journey. “Fighting is a rollercoaster — it’s gonna go up, it’s gonna go down, there’s gonna be some turns — and you’ve just got to enjoy the ride and enjoy the process as much as you can while staying true to yourself.”
That’s all Bobby Green has ever been.
UFC Fight Night: Dawson vs Green took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 7, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
