Rivalries: Bobby Green

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:

Dan Lauzon

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.

Josh Thomson

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.

Lando Vannata

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.

Thiago Moises

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.

Al Iaquinta

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.