It’s no surprise the spotlight surrounding UFC Fight Night 57 this Saturday is on the featherweights, but in the night’s co-feature, a pair of lightweights look to steal the show.
Forgotten contender Bobby Green makes his much anticipated return to the Octagon when he meets Edson Barboza in a pivotal matchup for the 155-pound division. It’s an opportunity for Green to remind fans and pundits why he should be considered one of the top lightweights in the UFC.
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When his hand was raised this past July at UFC on FOX 12, Green put his peers on notice as he edged out a split decision over former Strikeforce champion Josh Thomson. In the biggest win of his career, Green emerged as a 155-pound contender and fans were eagerly anticipating his next fight.
Initially, the California native was slated to meet Jorge Masvidal at UFC 178 in September. While it wasn’t the most appealing matchup in terms of the rankings, fans bought into this as a fun fight that would likely turn into a slugfest. But shortly after, Green was pulled from that bout and scheduled to fight fellow top contender Donald Cerrone on the same event. Fans were salivating at this matchup, not only because these were two of the top contenders in the division, but there was already bad blood between both of these fighters on social media.
However in an unexpected twist, Eddie Alvarez earned his long-awaited release from Bellator and immediately jumped ship to the UFC. Once again the UFC decided to change things up, pairing the former Bellator champion with Cerrone in favour of Green. Despite being offered his original fight with Masvidal, the 28-year-old refused and opted to take some time off.
Heading into this matchup, Green is currently riding an eight-fight winning streak with half of those wins coming in the UFC. He faces a tough opponent in Barboza who not only boasts a height and reach advantage, but has also won four of his last five fights. In anticipation for Barboza’s well-rounded skill set, Green has spent part of his training camp with the Diaz brothers at the prestigious Cesar Gracie camp. The Strikeforce veteran has eight career knockouts on his resume and that could bode well in this matchup as Barboza’s chin has appeared to diminish in recent fights. His knockout losses to Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone showed flashes of this, as did his narrow victory over Danny Castillo where the Brazilian was almost finished in the first round by the Team Alpha Male fighter. Despite this, 28-year-old Barboza boasts 10 knockouts in 14 fights himself and is one of the most skilled Muay Thai practitioners in the division.
Green has never been knocked out in his 28-fight career, however he did suffer a TKO loss to Tim Means at welterweight in 2010, but that was by verbal submission. One area of caution is Greens’ tendency to keep his hands down and taunt his opponent, a luxury he won’t be able to get away with against a dangerous and unorthodox striker like Barboza.
Even though neither fighter is considered a clear-cut favourite in this matchup, the pressure rides more on Green as he looks to maintain the momentum from his win over former top contender Thomson. With an already crowded division that includes upcoming matchups like Cerrone vs. Myles Jury at UFC 182 in January and Rafael dos Anjos vs. Nate Diaz next month at UFC on FOX 13, a statement victory over Barboza could elevate Green over his peers.
Conversely, for Barboza it’s a chance to steal Green’s thunder and erase the memory of his first-round loss to Cerrone. Regardless, it’s the fans who win in this matchup as neither fighter will be shy about keeping this fight on the feet. Look for this tilt to be a crowd-pleasing affair and a matchup that will contend for “Fight of the Night” honours.
