It is really happening, and it has been accelerated even more based on the course of events that landed Green in the main event this weekend.
His victory over Haqparast at UFC 271 was a standout effort on the pay-per-view portion of the card and garnered a great deal of attention in the moment, with UFC broadcast Jon Anik opining in the immediate aftermath of the contest that Green has never looked better and is deserving of a main event opportunity, few expected it to come two weeks later against arguably the most avoided man in the division.
But when it was announced that Beneil Dariush had suffered an injury and would be unable to compete against Makhachev, Green’s name was quickly put forward as a possible replacement on social media. No more than a couple days later, he was confirmed as the streaking contender’s new opponent.
“I’ve always wanted to be a main event, so that’s cool that I’ve got a poster and I’ve got something to remember it by, but it’s all so fast,” Green said of his first main event opportunity. “It didn’t come like I expected it to. I expected to have a proper camp. I expected to have proper things in line, and it’s not.
“It’s bittersweet,” he added. “It’s kind of thrown at me. It doesn’t feel like it was meant to be because it’s the hand-me-downs, you know? But I’m grateful for the opportunity.”