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Bobby Green has arrived, but he still has places to go.
On Saturday, Green delivered one of the best performances of his long career, finishing top-10 ranked lightweight Grant Dawson in just 33 seconds in the main event of UFC Vegas 80. It was Green’s second stoppage win of 2023 and may well earn him a spot in the UFC’s rankings, but more importantly, the win finally may have gotten Green the respect he feels he’s always deserved.
“I feel like a lot of people really count me out, a lot of people really bash [me],” Green said Monday on The MMA Hour. “I feel like I’m a guy on the side of the road that, if you just walk past this guy, you don’t know that maybe one day he won a million dollar ticket. I’m trying to inspire people like, hey, you should treat everybody with love and kindness.
“I’ve been doing this s*** so long. I’ve seen the ups, the downs, everything about it, and how people act and treat and think and say. A lot of people called me a journeyman, or they called me this and that. Or, ‘Who the f*** is that guy?’ I’ve been hearing that for so f****** long, and I really want to inspire people to, don’t let nobody hold you down, don’t let nobody put you down. I’m that example right now, showing everybody.”
A professional since 2008, Green rose to prominence in the Strikeforce organization before making the move to the UFC in 2013, where he has been a staple of the lightweight division, amassing a 12-9-1 record with one no-contest — a résumé which includes four Fight of the Night bonuses and four Performance bonuses.
But despite his long résumé, at 37 years old, Green may be having the best year of his UFC career. With three fights under his belt in 2023 (two wins and one no-contest) and two bonuses already in the bank, “King” says he’s nearing his goal of making $1 million this year, and so he really hopes he can land a spot on one of the UFC’s December cards.
“I have goals. I don’t let any of this stuff that y’all think and do block what I’ve got going,” Green said. “I just kept digging the shovel when everybody was talking about, ‘You’re not going to be champ. You’re not going to do this, you’re not going to do that.’ I just dug the shovel. I didn’t get caught up in all that different stuff, and in doing that — the shovel, which means going towards my goal, make sure the kids are taken care of.
“Every time I touch that floor, I’m going closer to my goal. My goal, I told my coach this year, I’m going to make you $100,000. He gets 10 percent of my check. So if he makes $100,000, that means I made a milly. We’re real close. I’m going to make $1 million this year. That’s been my goal, and so I need to do this last one which accomplishes that. That’s why I’m saying I’m going to do December. If they open it up, I’m doing it.”
And as for who he wants in December, Green isn’t particularly picky, but did mention Dan Hooker as a possible option.
“I’ve been doing the same stuff, you guys, and I’m going to keep showing you,” Green said. “So when I say that, I’ve got to live up to my word. I said I’d come out in December, I’m willing to do December. Who wants to get down? Let’s go. Hooker was talking like he wanted [to fight]. He said December is cool for him. If he really wants to do that. I heard some whispers that he’s talking like he wants to do it, let’s see if he’s really down.”
Hooker is not the only option for Green though. Following his win on Saturday, Renato Moicano also called out Green for a fight.
Green is OK with fighting either man. He also noted that this is all a huge difference from a few years ago when none of the top lightweights in the world would say his name.
“Do I have a preference? Listen, I have all the time in the world. I’m just going to keep getting bigger,” Green said. “All these guys want my name. This is a weird feeling. When I was calling people, I swear to God, when I was calling people, none of y’all n***** ever would even acknowledge me. They wouldn’t even acknowledge me. They wouldn’t even say, ‘I seen you.’ The only person that said something to me was ‘The Irish Dragon’ [Paul Felder]. That was the only person that ever said something. Everybody else ignored me. So that’s why I’m saying, n**** stop. Now all of a sudden everybody wants to call my name?
“Now they realize I’m the f****** name. I’m the guy that’s going to shake s*** up. Just like I said, I’m going to shake s*** up. I’m going to continue to shake s*** up. This next one? It’s going to be another classic, I promise you that.”
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