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#5 UFC Lightweight Division: Bobby Green vs. Thiago Moises

Bobby Green is one of the UFC's more underrated fighters.

Old-school striker vs. grappler matches are pretty rare in the UFC these days, but this show is treating us to one. In this instance, Green will be looking to keep things on the feet, while Moises will almost definitely be desperate to get things to the ground.

Interestingly, the same could be said for Moises’ last outing in the UFC. That one saw him face fleet-footed striker Michael Johnson, and early on at least, things were looking bad for him. Moises appeared to be miles out of his depth standing and was being picked apart by The Menace, who seemed on his way to a victory.

However, that changed in the early moments of the second round. Moises decided to take a chance, dived on a leg, and quickly snared Johnson in an Achilles lock, forcing a tap-out moments later. It was highly impressive and a definite message to the rest of the UFC’s Lightweights to not write Moises off.

Green, though, promises to be an extremely tricky test for him. King is a real veteran now, with an MMA career that dates back all the way to 2008. In fact, longtime fans might remember Green fighting in the ill-fated Affliction promotion back in 2009.

In terms of his UFC career, he’s been in the promotion since 2013 and has put together a record of 8-5-1. However, that record is almost unfair to his talents. Only Dustin Poirier has been able to stop King, and all of his other losses could easily have gone the other way had Green made some adjustments.

That, though, is the problem with his style. Like a poor man’s Floyd Mayweather, Green has a boxing-heavy style that sees him duck, bob, and weave to avoid punches, using a shoulder-rolling technique not really common to MMA.

However, it also means that he doesn’t always chain his own offense together too well, instead focusing so much on dodging punches that the judges aren’t always convinced he’s done enough to win. When he does let his hands go, though, he’s a genuinely excellent fighter.

For this fight's purpose, it’s also worth noting that Green is a great defensive wrestler. He rarely finds himself grounded, and in fact, two of his last three wins have come over notable grapplers in Alan Patrick and Clay Guida.

With that in mind, the pick here is a pretty simple one, in my opinion. Green can be outpointed on the feet, but only by pretty sharp kickboxers like Francisco Trinaldo, Rashid Magomedov, and Edson Barboza. Against grapplers or lesser strikers, he’s always done really well.

When you consider how badly Moises appeared to be outgunned against Johnson in his most recent UFC fight then, it’s hard to imagine him giving Green any issues standing. That means that King should be able to keep his focus on takedown defense and simply hitting the Brazilian enough to outwork him for fifteen minutes.

I’d be surprised if Green can finish Moises – he hasn’t stopped an opponent in the UFC since November 2013. However, any result other than a decision win for King would outright shock me.

The Pick: Green via unanimous decision