Preview: UFC Fight Night 222 ‘Pavlovich vs. Blaydes’

Lightweights

Bobby Green (29-14-1, 10-9-1 UFC) vs. Jared Gordon (19-6, 7-5 UFC)

ODDS: Green (-250), Gordon (+210)

It has been nice to see Green make his name as a fan favorite in recent years, given the long and difficult path his career has taken. Green made his name as a prospect by taking as many fights as possible—by the time he landed in Strikeforce, he had already packed nearly 20 bouts into a three and a half-year pro career—so he was already a seasoned vet by the time the UFC came calling in 2013. Green started his UFC career off hot, scoring four straight wins while capping his run with a 2014 victory over Josh Thomson, but just as “King” appeared on the verge of a breakout, his career fell apart. Injuries and personal tragedies kept Green out of action for most of the next few years, and a combination of poor performances and questionable judging kept him from making those rare appearances successful. Green only had one win in between 2014 and 2020. That made it a pleasant surprise when Green was an unlikely star during the coronavirus pandemic. With the UFC’s matchmaking in a state of chaos for most of 2020, Green returned to his roots and stepped in to fight as often as possible. That coincided with one of the healthier stretches of Green’s recent career, allowing him to impress in his performances and win three out of four fights in just a four-month span. Green has since felt the love from the fans whenever the UFC goes on the road and settled in as a Top 20 or so lightweight. Islam Makhachev was able to outwrestle him handily in advance of his title run and Drew Dober was the rare opponent to actually catch Green for a knockout, but his one-sided beating of Nasrat Haqparast early in 2022 was a reminder of how he can still take apart a talented prospect. Green returns here as a tough bounce-back opponent for Gordon, who is coming off the most high-profile fight of his career—a controversial December loss to Paddy Pimblett.

Gordon looked like a featherweight prospect ready to compete at a high level upon signing with the UFC in 2017, but he ran into a few problems. Weight-cutting issues have forced him up to lightweight full-time, and the durability that marked a lot of Gordon’s regional career simply did not hold up from there, forcing “Flash” to retool his aggressive approach. There have been some ups and downs along the way, but Gordon has turned into a well-rounded fighter with a decent sense of patience, even if his most successful showings still see him lean on a clear wrestling advantage. That makes it difficult to see where Gordon can crack this fight open. Green gets outwrestled very rarely, and he is also a much sharper striker who should be able to hit Gordon with some hard counters as he settles into this fight. Gordon could make this ugly, but without much in the way of finishing ability, this looks like Green’s fight to lose. The pick is Green via third-round knockout.

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Pavlovich vs. Blaydes
Tavares vs. Silva
Green vs. Gordon
Lucindo vs. Walker
Wells vs. Semelsberger
The Prelims