Bobby Green and Rashid Magomedov both walked down to the octagon looking like they had something to prove ahead of their lightweight contest which aired on FOX.
[FIGHT VIDEOS UNDER OFFICIAL RESULT BELOW]
Green’s first appearance in the octagon since June of last year did not start off well as Magomedov cracked him with a two-punch combination within moments of the fight kicking off. Green seemed to be the aggressor in terms of pace, but Magomedov had no issues matching that pace. Green fired off some knees within the clinch, which called for Magomedov to blast back of a knee of his own.
Unfortunately, Magomedov’s knee landed below the belt which called for a brief pause in the action. Once the action resumed, the action went right back to the center of the octagon. Green fired off a head kick which Magomedov caught, and dropped Green with a counter right.
Green changed angles of his attack often, switching from leg kicks to body shots to straight rights to the nose of Magomedov. Magomedov was kept guessing where Green would strike next constantly, but Magomedov did a great job in cutting the attack off in the first place. Green pinned Magomedov up against the fence for a minute or so until the round ended.
Green worked hard for the takedown in the second round but Magomedov shrugged off each attempt and cracked Green with his lunging cross. The second round was a calm one but saw Green take a lot more punishment than he did in the first. He suffered a cut early on in the round when Magomedov punched him and the edge of his glove sliced just outside the eye of Green.
They went shot for shot in the opening moments of the final round; Both men showed signs of fatigue as the pace of the fight slowed down greatly. Neither man threw combinations in the first three minutes of the final round, but Green started to loosen up and attack from different angles much like he did in the first. Another groin strike, this time on Magomedov, would call for a brief halt in action just when Green started to gain momentum.
Magomedov ripped to the body of Green and the final minute of this fight resembled a boxing fight. It was punch-heavy with a lot of clinches, but all of that changed when Green pressed Magomedov up against the fence to work for a takedown before time expired.
Rashid Magomedov def. Bobby Green by way of Split Decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
