King Green ended the year tonight at UFC On ESPN 73 with a short-notice win over newcomer Lance Gibson Jr by split-decision.
Round One
Green fires off a left hand and gets a hard low kick in return from Gibson Jr.
Body punch from King. He misses with another one, but lands a side kick to the body instead afterwards.
Short flurry of punches to the head from Green. He’s commanding the center of the Octagon for now and is starting to get loose here as he taunts his opponent.
Gibson Jr with a push kick and then crashes the distance looking for a possible takedown, but Green escapes.
Green with a front kick to the body and then oblique kicks. Solid body kick for Gibson Jr now.
Right hook lands for Green and then lands a good left hook soon after. Gibson Jr trying to engage now but not as effectively.
Green telling Gibson Jr to ‘come here’ several times. He then bursts forward with strikes then ducks into a takedown attempt, but Gibson Jr stuffs it.
Green continues to taunt and then pick his moments to dart in with the occasional punch. Gibson Jr with a punch just before the end of the round.
Round Two
Oblique kicks from Green. He times a good punch just as Gibson Jr steps into range and that knocks him over to the mat, though he immediately gets bacck up and seems fine.
Body punch for Green. He goes for a push kick that strays to the groin and forces a short time-out for Gibson Jr to recover.
The get back to it a few minutes later. Head kick attempt from Green is blocked. Gibson Jr comes forward aggressively, lands a punch and then lands a takedown. Much better from him after a slow start to the fight.
Gibson Jr in side control near the cage here. Green is able to scramble back to his feet though. Gibson Jr still has the body lock though against the cage.
Gibson Jr working for a single-leg now, but Green retains his balance and then gets back to striking range.
Leg kick for Green. Push kick to the body from Gibson Jr. There’s an exchange of punches and Gibson Jr landed the cleaner hook there.
Thigh kick for Gibson Jr and then an exchange of punches between the two. Front kick to the body from Green.
Nice left hand for Green. Low kick from Gibson Jr. A couple of left hooks land for Green, but Gibson Jr connects in there too.
Round Three
Body kick for Green as he takes the center of the Octagon again. Body kick for Gibson Jr too now.
Front kick to the body from Gibson Jr. Side kick to the midsection from Green and then a low kick. Head kick attempt from Gibson Jr is blocked.
Gibson Jr chatting back to Green now, pointing out that he’s missing strikes.
Well-timed takedown from Gibson Jr now in the center of the Octagon, but Green is quickly back up.
Body punch for Green. Now a right hand upstairs. He lands another body punch and then misses on the hook upstairs as Gibson Jr also just comes up short with one of his own.
Another punch lands for Green as he continually tries to march down Gibson Jr with his hands by his sides. Missed head kick attempt from Gibson Jr.
Jab lands for Green. He catches a kick and uses that to knock him off-balance and secure a late takedown in the final minute of the fight.
Green in north-south position here and landing a few punches to the body. He passes to side control and drops down some hammer-fists.
Decision
Green was the fighter repeatedly pressing forward in this match-up and landing more significant strikes, but Gibson Jr did trade some blows at times and land a couple of takedowns, which was enough for one judge to give him the nod. However, in the end it’s Green who emerges with the split-decision victory (29-28 x2, 28-29)
