Video: Bobby Green extends record, chokes Tony Ferguson unconscious in final seconds at UFC 291
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to us tonight, July 29, 2023, for UFC 291, going down live from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Headlining the event is a lightweight rematch over five years in the making as former interim champions Dustin Poirier (29-7) and Justin Gaethje (24-4) finally go at it again following their Fight of the Year effort back in 2018.
Co-headlining the event is a 205 lb clash showcasing former UFC light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz (29-9-1) and former UFC middleweight champion Alex Pereira (7-2).
Our second bout going down on the main card tonight came at 155 lbs between former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson (25-9) and fellow longtime lightweight staple, former KOTC lightweight champion Bobby Green (30-14-1).
Ferguson, following his 12-fight win streak from 2013 to 2019, had since lost his last five-straight appearances, while Green had gone 5-5 (1 NC) since Ferguson’s last win.
Continue reading to see how this lightweight affair went down:
Official Result: Bobby Green def. Tony Ferguson via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:54 of round three
Ferguson goes for an early takedown and nearly secures Green’s back in the first 90 seconds of the fight but is unsuccessful and they’re back to striking range shortly thereafter.
Ferguson becomes the first to land an effective strike, a left hook that momentarily backs Green up, and drops Green with a right hand not long afterward.
Green is right back to his feet however and begins to pick Ferguson apart as the opening round goes on, mainly landing his slick one-two.
Ferguson shoots in on a takedown early in the second and ends up on his back. He throws his legs up for armbars and triangles consistently but gets busted up pretty badly courtesy of Green’s thunderous hammerfists.
Green allows Ferguson back to his feet for the final minute of the middle stretch and handily picks him apart until the bell sounds. At the end of two rounds, Green has landed nearly 70 significant strikes while Ferguson landed about 20.
Just like he did through the first two rounds, Ferguson walks Green down the four of the final five minutes of the bout whilst eating combinations in bunches; his chin held up pretty well tonight. It always did, but he ate a lot of hard shots tonight. It’s impressive at nearly 40 years of age.
Ferguson lands a couple solid right hands with about one minute left in the fight and ends up on his back again after a grappling exchange.
Green ends up on top and eventually sinks in the arm-triangle choke from half guard on the opposing side. He then passes to full side control to finish the fight. Ferguson tries his hardest to remain conscious until the final bell but is put out with just six seconds left in the bout.
Man what a sight. Bobby Green submits Tony Ferguson. Damn. pic.twitter.com/UfQylBDGNw
— MartialMind 🇳🇬🇺🇲 (@MartialMind1) July 30, 2023
Tony Ferguson loses his sixth-straight fight tonight at UFC 291 following the second-longest win streak in UFC lightweight history.
Bobby Green on the other hand secures just his second promotional submission victory, his first coming in his UFC debut back in 2013. That victory came via rear naked choke over Jacob Volkmann, and ironically enough, it also came in the final minute of the last round at 4:25.
Bobby Green also extends his record for the most significant strikes landed in UFC lightweight history; he had exactly 1,500 going into this fight, and now has 1,626.
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