Bobby Green could be fighting to stay in the UFC, as he takes on Lando Vannata at UFC 216 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada. Green won his first four fights in the UFC, but he has lost his last three. Rarely do fighters lose four straight in the UFC and not get cut. Vannata comes into this fight at 9-2 overall and 1-2 in the UFC. This fight is one of four on the FXX portion of the preliminary card, leading up to a four-fight main card which features Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee and Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg.
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Bobby Green (23-8, 4-3 UFC)
This is probably a make or break fight for Green in terms of the UFC. He lost a tough split decision to Rashid Magomedov in April. That loss was actually an improvement for Green, as he was knocked out by Dustin Poirier at UFC 199 last June and he was beaten by Edson Barboza by unanimous decision in November of 2014. Green won the first four fights in the UFC, as he defeated Jacob Volkmann, James Krause, Pat Healy and Josh Thomson. Green has not won a fight since his win over Thomson in 2014.
Green has been a pro since 2008. He has won nine times by knockout and eight times by submission. The finishing power of Green has definitely been missing of late, as four of his last five fights have gone to a decision.
Lando Vannata (9-2, 1-2 UFC)
Vannata started his career by winning his first eight fights, but he lost his UFC debut to Tony Ferguson in 2016. Vannata did come back from that defeat to win against John Makdessi late in 2016. Vannata could not follow up that win with another one, as he was beaten by David Teymur at UFC 209 in March of this year.
Vannata was thought of as a fighter who could rise quickly up the ranks in the UFC but he has yet to live up to his advance billing, losing two of his three fights. Vannata seems to have more ego than skill, but at least he does try and put on an exciting show when he fights.
What we have learned about Vannata is that most of his fights don’t last long one way or the other. In his previous 11 fights, only two have gone to decision. Vannata has four knockout wins in his career and he also has four submission wins.
UFC Picks
This could end up being one of the best fights on the preliminary card at UFC 216. Green is going to be extremely motivated, as he could be fighting to stay in the UFC and Vannata is a knockout waiting to happen. I think it is almost a given that Vannata is going to be a solid favorite in this fight and I think there is some value in taking the highly motivated fighter in Green. This also should be a fight that has a lot of action, and that should mean a knockout one way or another. I will also take the rounds to go under the total.
UFC 216 takes place on Saturday, October 7, 2017 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are four fights on the main card on pay-per-view, headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Kevin Lee and Demetrious Johnson vs. Ray Borg. There are also eight preliminary bouts, with four on FXX and four on UFC Fight Pass.
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Tony Ferguson -220 vs. Kevin Lee
Demetrious Johnson -1200 vs. Ray Borg
Fabricio Werdum -250 vs. Derrick Lewis
Beniel Dariush -250 vs. Evan Dunham
Preliminary Card (FXX)
Tom Duquesnoy vs. Cody Stamann
Will Brooks vs. Nik Lentz
Bobby Green vs. Lando Vannata
Pearl Gonazlez vs. Poliana Botelho
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Walt Harris vs. Mark Godbeer
John Moraga vs. Magomed Bibulatov
Thales Leites vs. Brad Tavares
Matt Schnell vs. Marco Beltran
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