Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green is one of the most interesting duels on the UFC 291 fight card. The main question hovering about this matchup is whether it’s time for “El Cucuy” to (finally) end his losing streak.
The 39-year-old legend is 0-5 in his last five fights and is without a single win in this decade. But it’s because he’s fought some real elite opponents. So, is Bobby Green is elite enough to beat Ferguson on Saturday.
Tony Ferguson vs. Bobby Green Odds
Moneyline Odds
Tony Ferguson +300
Bobby Green -430
*Odds taken from Sports Odds Direct on Thursday, July 27, 2023.
When, Where, and How to Watch?
Place: Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah
Date: Saturday, July 29
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
How to Watch: PPV
Tony Ferguson is 25-8 in his professional MMA career, with five of those eight losses happening in his last five fights. It sounds bad, especially given that “El Cucuy” is a 39-year-old, but there’s a caveat. All the fighters he lost to are much better than his next opponent, Bobby Green.
Ferguson’s 12-win run was ended by Justin Gaethje in May 2020 in a fight for the interim UFC Lightweight title. Seven months later, he went to fight Charles Oliveira – the UFC record holder for most finishes – and ended up losing by decision.
In 2021, he lost to Beneil Dariush by decision, followed by a KO loss to Michael Chandler in May 2022. His most recent fight happened in September 2022, when he lost to Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout. Diaz beat him by submission, which was kind of expected. Not only did Ferguson move up a weight class, but he had no idea he was going to fight Diaz until the weight-ins.
The thing is that it’s all Khamzat Chimaev’s fault. Nate Diaz was supposed to fight the Chechen, but he showed up overweight. To save the day, Ferguson agreed to be Diaz’s opponent in his last-ever UFC fight.
Bobby Green has 29 wins in his pro career, along with 14 losses, one draw, and one no contest. The no contest in question happened in his most recent fight, which ended after an accidental clash of heads left his opponent Jared Gordon unconscious.
Before that, Green lost two fights in a row. Islam Makhachev beat him by a TKO, while Drew Dober KO-ed him. This, however, doesn’t mean he’s not a good boxer. On the contrary, Green is one hell of a striker who lands 5.97 significant strikes per minute on average, but he also gets hit quite a lot.
