Green stepped in on short-notice to fight Makhachev on Saturday night.
Bobby Green tried to do the unthinkable and upset Islam Makhachev at UFC Vegas 49 on Saturday night, but he could not avoid the inevitable after being taken down.
Green was a short-notice replacement for Makhachev, who was originally scheduled to fight Beneil Dariush in what was considered a No. 1 contender in the lightweight division. Dariush was forced to withdraw after suffering an ankle injury just days before the event, which led to Green filling in at a 160-pound catchweight.
Though confident he could pose a different threat to and thwart the takedown attempts from Makhachev, Green found out it was easier said than done once he found himself trapped under the protégé of Khabib Nurmagomedov. After securing a takedown, Makhachev got into mount and started raining down punches. ‘King’ then turned over on his stomach, allowing for the No. 3 ranked lightweight to deliver some ground and pound that eventually forced referee Herb Dean to wave the fight off at the 3:23 mark of the first round.
In some of his first post-fight comments, Green posted an Instagram story on how he felt in the immediate aftermath of his loss to Makhachev. It was the first time in six years that the fan favorite veteran was finished by strikes.
“Expensive pain – expensive pain,” said Green (h/t Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie). “Wins and losses. Wins and losses. I just want to thank all my guys, all my peoples for riding with me. I apologize, but this is what it comes with when you throw this s—t together, you know what I’m saying? It’s last minute. I put it together as much as I can guys. I appreciate you. The s—t we do for our families. Love you guys.”
Green was also quick to analyze his shortcomings against the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product and told Megan Olivi during the post-fight show that he would be a bit more prepared if they were to share the Octagon again.
“It really sucks,” said Green. “I know I’m throwing this together, you know? I did what I can. I got off the couch. I’m still banged up from the last fight, but I did the best I can with what I had. I really just wanted to get a chance to at least test the guy. Interesting what you were doing. I feel what you were doing and I understand what you’re doing now, so if we ever cross paths [again], I’ll be prepared for him.”
The 35-year-old was on a two-fight win streak with wins over Al Iaquinta and Nasrat Haqparast, the latter of which was two weeks ago at UFC 271 in Houston.