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Bobby Green scored what is unquestionably the most significant victory over his long MMA career when he essentially knocked out surging Grant Dawson with one punch Saturday at Apex.
Dawson entered the fight ranked 10th at lightweight and had won 11 and drawn one in his previous 12 fights. Green, though, didn’t realize which punch he used to knock out Dawson.
Fighting out of the southpaw stance, he fired a straight left that landed perfectly on the face. Dawson went down and Green quickly finished it with ground-and-pound. Green was pulled off and had won in just 33 seconds.
It was only after watching the replay with broadcaster Daniel Cormier, the UFC Hall of Famer, that he realized what he’d done.
“Oh man!” Green said. “I thought it was a right hand!”
Green has long been one of the best strikers in the UFC, but he never managed to put it all together when it mattered most. He entered Saturday’s fight with a 30-14-1 mark and some good wins, but never anything as significant as the KO of Dawson.
He praised his coach, Jacob Benhey, who was also his foster father, and said, “I couldn’t do none of this without [him].”
But he was emotional after a win that clearly took him to another level in his career. Dawson had been steamrolling everyone he faced and was as confident and composed as anyone in the division going into the bout.
Green’s quickness and footwork, though, gave him problems from the start. Dawson couldn’t get a handle on where Green was or where he was going and Green took advantage to finish it with a massive punch.
Despite repeated efforts, Green wouldn’t call anyone out, but said he moved to Las Vegas recently and hoped to be able to fight on the UFC 296 card on Dec. 16 at T-Mobile Arena. He’s now 2-0 with a no-contest this year and wants to cap the year off in his new hometown with an appearance on the big show.
That doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request.
Pyfer backs up pre-fight words
Joe Pyfer continues to show that he’s a man to take seriously in the UFC’s middleweight division. He did it with a huge slam and then put Abdul Razak al Hassan to sleep with an arm triangle in what had been an electrifying fight up until that point.
It was a fun first round, but Pyfer had the edge. Al Hassan’s corner urged him between rounds to use the calf kick and suddenly he was having success. The fight came to a sudden conclusion, though, when al Hassan, one of the game’s hardest hitters, threw a big combination.
Pyfer had good head movement and dodged the punches. He immediately got in on al Hassan, lifted him high and slammed him powerfully to the mat. Pyfer then put al Hassan to sleep with an arm triangle. Al Hassan tapped, but he used a clenched fist to tap, which is illegal, so referee Mark Smith didn’t stop it. Seconds later, it was over.
Pyfer later made a fairly startling admission, despite all the bravado from the pre-fight.
“I’m not a role model, but I want to be an inspiration,” Pyfer said. “I came from nothing. I had nothing. And I was scared as s*** this fight. Anyone who tells you they’re not scared is a liar. Believe in yourself, but that’s what it does.”
Dober sets lightweight KO record
Drew Dober was all over Rick Glenn from the start of their lightweight bout and stopped him with strikes at 2:36 of the first round. Referee Chris Tognoni allowed Glenn to take a few unnecessary shots, but fortunately, Glenn was fine.
The finish was the ninth in the UFC at lightweight for Dober, breaking a tie at the top with Dustin Poirier. Being ahead of Poirier in anything in the UFC is a significant achievement so it’s nothing to turn up one’s nose at.
Dober’s now won four of his last five.
“I didn’t know what Ricky Glenn was going to show up,” Dober said. “He’s got [ex-Bellator champion] Ben Askren in his corner. He’s super, super tough. I made my pro debut on the same card as he did. We’ve come a long way and I know how tough he is, so I had zero expectations.”
He should have, judging by the way it went. He dropped Glenn twice, and seemed like he might have finished him after the first knockdown, but his fingers got stuck in the palm of Glenn’s glove as he was delivering some vicious ground-and-pound.
He stood up and pointed it out to the referee. The fight resumed on the feet and Dober swarmed Glenn, dropping him hard with a combination. Tognoni could have called it as soon as Glenn hit the floor, because there was no way he was going to fend off Dober. But Dober got it done and got himself back in the win column after a March loss to Matt Frevola.
Algeo calls out Zuckerberg, among others
After impressively defeating Alexander Hernandez by winning 30-27 on all three cards, Bill Algeo made a unique call-out. When he was being interviewed by UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, Algeo said “my call-outs don’t work.”
So he proceeded to name several fighters, including Billy Quarantillo, who responded affirmatively on X almost immediately. He also mentioned Kron Gracie.
Algeo’s best call-out, which wasn’t all that serious and isn’t going to work either, was Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“Listen, one more thing,” Algeo said in the cage. “None of my call-outs work, so I have a list for you. I want Billy Q. I want Kron Gracie. I want [retired Dr. Anthony] Fauci. I want Zuckerberg. [Elon] Musk pulled out of that fight so I’m ready to take you on here, the Metaverse, wherever you want to take it.
“And maybe Nate Landwehr, too. We’ll see.”
Algeo is now 18-7 and has won four of his last five. He’s also very underrated on the mic and has a knack for not only exciting fights but entertaining interviews.
Keep an eye on him. He’s fun to watch, and to listen to.
Remade Buckley looks impressive
After losing two in a row at middleweight, Joaquin Buckley made the decision to drop to welterweight. He scored a win over Andre Fialho in his 170-pound debut on May 20, winning with a head kick in the second round. On Saturday, he was impressive from the opening bell to the closing seconds and won a unanimous decision over the always tough Alex Morono.
Judges scored it 30-27 twice and 30-26 for Buckley. Yahoo Sports had it 30-27 for Buckley.
Buckley requested a main event following the win so he could silence his critics.
“Look man, the world doubts me,” Buckley said. “They discredit me on all the hard work I put in, and they damn sure disrespect me out here. But guess what? They can’t stop what’s destiny for me. It’s already written in the stars, man. I’m going to take what’s mine. That’s my gold, bro, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
A win, though not according to plan
Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Diana Belbita put on an entertaining show in their strawweight bout, with Kowalkiewicz winning her fourth in a row by scores of 30-27 from all three judges.
The fight, though, didn’t play out the way Kowalkiewicz planned. She showed, however, the ability to adjust.
“I am like a good, old wine,” said Kowalkiewicz, who at 37 is hardly old. “The older I get, the better I get. My gameplan was to take her to the ground and finish her on the ground. But I couldn’t get her down so I fought her in the stand-up.
“I know I have very good stand-up and I feel good standing. You know, I have stand-up, wrestling and BJJ and I feel every day I’m getting better and better.”