Bobby Green is not impressed by the recent red hot streak of his UFC Vegas 49 opponent Islam Makhachev.
On Saturday night, inside Las Vegas’ UFC APEX, Green (29-12-1) will take on the challenge of a man who has gone unbeaten in his last nine fights in the Octagon. Furthermore, he will compete against the fourth-ranked lightweight on about two weeks’ notice. But in his usual devil-may-care style, “King” seems unconcerned about the task ahead and unimpressed in which the way the Russian has won in the UFC.
In his Wednesday media scrum to talk about his fight, Green gave his thoughts on Makhachev’s (21-1) wrestling dominance in the promotion. And he was not very complimentary, as he explained that the “product” the Khabib Nurmagomedov mentee puts forth is one that is “boring.” Even when he does score a finish on his opponents as he did in his last three fights.
Bobby Green calls Islam Makhachev a boring fighter
“He’s been really downplaying me, and I’m going to keep it 100 for you: He’s a good opponent,” Green said. “I think he’s definitely — he’s been on this win-streak. He is championship material if you’re talking about wins — if you’re talking about just wins. But I feel like when it comes to this MMA stuff, it’s what product you’re selling … We’re all selling something, and the public is going to buy the best thing they can find.
“With Islam, he does what he does. But to be honest, it’s kind of boring,” he continued. “Even if he’s getting finishes, it’s still been boring. So my whole thing is entertainment, excitement. He can be championship material, but it’s just f*cking boring. Nobody wants to see it. Nobody cares. I fall asleep watching his fights, then it’s, ‘Oh, there’s the finish.’ They can show a bunch of finishes and it’s cool, but it was boring and it’s lackluster.”
Green has split his last four fights. Coming up short in unanimous decision losses to ranked lightweight talent in Rafael Fiziev and Thiago Moises. However, he has won his last two, beating Al Iaquinta and Nasrat Haqparast.
Green and Makhachev will headline UFC Vegas 49 on Feb. 26, with the card kicking off at 4 PM ET exclusively on ESPN+.