Bobby Green figured out rather quickly that Grant Dawson had something to prove at UFC Vegas 80. It turns out that ultimately proved to be Dawson’s undoing.
It took Green just 33 seconds and a lighting-quick straight left hand to put the first loss on Dawson’s UFC record. Heading into the fight, Dawson had a reputation as a suffocating grappler, but Green recognized the American Top Team fighter was willing to engage him on the feet — and it backfired in devastating fashion.
“I think he was trying to let me know that, oh, he’s a tough guy — he’s tough,” Green explained at the UFC Vegas 80 post-fight press conference. “That was the bad mistake I think he made, instead of just sticking to his game plan more.
“He was trying to make me feel like, ‘I’m going to hit you!’ OK, interesting. But I didn’t expect him to go down. I didn’t feel like I hit him that hard, but my coach said, ‘You don’t have to hit anybody hard, you’ve just got to put the shot there.’”
While he scored a jaw-dropping finish in the first round, Green says he was fully prepared to endure a 25-minute battle, because he knew Dawson would likely attempt to drag him to the ground and grind out a victory.
“I thought we were going to be having a grueling fight,” Green said. “People think you can just take me down. [They think], ‘I’m going to grab him, and I’m just going to take him down.’ My wrestling’s good kid. My wrestling’s really good.
“Since I have that stupid taste in my mouth with that one fight that I did [against Islam Makhachev], everybody assumes you can’t wrestle. So I wanted to be able to show that part of it. That we came well prepared.”
In the end, Green didn’t need to use his grappling or takedown defense, because he ultimately only had to connect with that one devastating punch that effectively ended Dawson’s night.
Considering he needed 33 seconds to get the job done, Green wasted no time turning his attention toward another fight before this year is over. While he said he will need an X-ray on his hand, which was still sporting a slight injury from his previous win over Tony Ferguson, he would like to close out the year at UFC 296 in December.
In the cage, Green showed no interest in calling out anybody by name, though it turns out his coaches had an idea on a potential opponent.
“My coach has been putting names in my ear,” Green said. “They said [Dan] Hooker. They want me to fight Hooker. I’m like OK, if this Hooker’s down, I’m down. I’m even down to headline the prelims.”
Green may not have mentioned anybody by name, but fellow UFC lightweight Renato Moicano definitely had other ideas when he erupted on social media, asking for the chance to avenge his teammate’s loss on Saturday night.
“Bobby Green, you in trouble, brother,” Moicano shouted on Twitter. “You disrespect [American Top Team], my brother, and I’m going to f*** you up, Bobby Green. You’re going to be easy money. Listen to me what I say, my brother. Easy f****** money. I will destroy you.”
#ufc296 pic.twitter.com/bWz4h5Snwn
— Renato Moicano UFC (@moicanoufc) October 8, 2023
In response, Green scoffed at Moicano’s callout, but he also reiterated that he’ll fight anyone that the UFC throws at him because names have never really mattered much to him.
“Tell that guy suck it,” Green said. “He wanted to fight. It’s like he wants the big money. He’s like, ‘Hey, I want to fight’ but then when I saw him it’s like what’s up? Then it’s like, ‘Well, not that time.’ You gotta figure that out, bro.
“[To] be honest, I just [fight] whoever they put in front of me. If they put Renato, he’ll get his ass slept, too.”
