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There is a saying mixed martial arts manager Jason House often turns to during conversations with the athletes he represents.
“I always tell them, ‘It’s not about who’s good,'” House says. “‘It’s about who’s left.'”
In a sport full of potential pitfalls, UFC lightweight Bobby Green (29-12-1) has always found a way to be one of those still left. The California native has been fighting professionally since 2008, but has only recently seen a spike in popularity and recognition. On Saturday, Green will headline his first UFC Fight Night, opposite Russia’s Islam Makhachev (21-1).
Saturday will mark Green’s 19th appearance in the UFC. No one in the history of the sport has been in more fights before appearing in a UFC main event.
“I’ve been here in the trenches for years,” Green, 35, told ESPN. “I wondered, ‘Is it just me? I don’t know. Maybe it will never happen for me. People will just never see me.‘ I always felt like I was this certain breed of fighter — a Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal — but I wasn’t seen that way.”
Like Diaz and Masvidal, Green’s willingness to stand in the middle of the Octagon and trade strikes and verbal barbs with his opponent should make him an appealing draw. But for reasons even Green can’t explain, the sport is finally taking notice in 2022.
Two weeks ago, the city of Houston gave him a hero’s welcome at UFC 271, where he beat Nasrat Haqparast via decision. And since he agreed to face Makhachev, the division’s No. 4-ranked contender, on short notice due to an injury to Beneil Dariush, the sport has applauded his courage.
“I don’t know where these fans are coming from,” Green laughed. “Some people have told me it’s the positivity thing I’ve had going, in all my little interviews and what I say after the fights. I’ve just been me. If they gravitate to it, cool. If they don’t, I don’t know what to say. I’m just trying to be me, sir.”
Regardless of the reasons behind it, the recognition for Green has been a long time coming — for both him and…
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Source : espn
