After a successful three events back to back to back in Jacksonville, Florida the UFC took a week off for the Memorial Day weekend. That, and a little shuffling of the deck, with their expected May 23 card being pushed back a week. Now, the UFC returns on May 30, this time in the fight capital of Las Vagas, Nevada at their APEX facility. The card is UFC Vegas (UFC on ESPN 9), topped by Tyron Woodley vs. Gilbert Burns.
Originally, a welterweight bout was scheduled between Kevin Holland and Daniel Rodriguez. However, Holland had to pull out due to an injury. With the show still carrying on, Rodriguez will now take on short-notice replacement Gabriel Green.
Gabriel “Gifted” Green
5’10″
Welterweight
27-years-old
Downey, California, US
Subfighter MMA/Bodyshop
9-2
3 KO/TKOs
6 Submissions
How will Green fare in the UFC:
Defensively Green needs work, but offensively he’s very skilled. On the feet, Green has good boxing with solid kicks in his arsenal. On the defensive side, he can be a bit too easy to hit at times — but he is improving in each fight. He throws in flurries of combinations, always mixing it up with his hands, knees, and kicks. As well as throwing from a lot of angles. Green has knockout power, but it’s his steady pressure and output that are too much for his foes.
In the clinch he’s underrated throwing well off the breaks. Green likes to stand and trade, but he’s a more dangerous submission grappler. He has six submissions, all by rear-naked choke. Green does need work on his takedown defense: it has gotten better but still isn’t quite there.
Even off his back Green is dangerous. He don’t have any submissions off his back but is really good at using leg locks to create scrambles. Once Green does get top position he’s good at taking the back and closing out the fight. His wrestling is decent but he just doesn’t use it enough. Green is talented overall, and deserving of this opportunity.
How do Green and Rodriguez match up?:
Rodriguez is coming off his debut win against veteran Tim Means. Not taking anything away from Rodriguez, but Means is a bit past his prime. Rodriguez is a striker at heart who will fight behind a jab and power left hook. He hits hard but for the most part he has trouble finding his range. He has some good qualities like his overhand left, a jab, and some good knees. He just has problems putting it all together. While D-Rod does have the knockout power advantage, Green is much more polished. He has more weapons, is faster, and throws far greater volume. If anyone does wrestle you’d imagine it would be Green, and Green is the much better grappler all around. What’s hurting Green is that he’s a natural 155lb’er. That, and he hasn’t competed in nearly two years due to injuries. It’s a tough fight to call just due to that factor but Green is the much more well-rounded fighter.
