Bobby Green spoiled Al Iaquinta’s return at UFC 268 in New York, defeating the Long Island native via first-round knockout.
After two years out of action, Al Iaquinta returned to the octagon at UFC 268, taking on Bobby Green, a match-up originally scheduled back in 2015.
Green was looking to shake off a couple of losses having lost back-to-back fights to Rafael Fizev and Thiago Moises. Iaquinta, aside from shaking off the cage rust, was also hoping to snap a two-fight skid. The bout for Iaquinta was also his first since 2019, where he lost to Dan Hooker at UFC 243, prior he was also dominated by Cowboy Cerrone that same year.
Iaquinta tried to cut off the cage early, trying to blitz in and out on Green. However, he quickly began running into Green’s jab, which seemingly was landing whenever he wanted it to. Green also began to find a home for his 1-2, while Iaquinta was seemingly just trying to wing shots at Green— which soon became a problem for him. Halfway through the round Green countered with a straight right hand that dropped Iaquinta bad. Green jumped on with some ground and pound and that was it, a first-round finish for Bobby Green.
THE KING!!!!!! 👑
[ #UFC268 | Prelims are LIVE on ESPNews & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/Z5cX2g2eyC
— UFC (@ufc) November 7, 2021
Bobby Green remains one of the most underrated fighters at 155 pounds in this one. Despite the two losses heading in, both of those bouts were lost by razor-thin margins, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him take a big step back to fight the unranked Raging Al.
In addition to the win, Green also picked up his first stoppage victory since 2013.
The ending is a sad one for the returning Al Iaquinta. This was always going to be a tough fight to return to after taking two years off. While a top-ten fighter when he was around, Iaquinta probably needed a tune-up here.
Official Result: Bobby Green def. Al Iaquinta by knockout, Round 1, 2:25
