King Green May Never Claim the Crown, But He Remains An Entertainer
I don’t want to liken King Green (formerly Bobby Green) to a court jester, but the lightweight is just so darn entertaining that it’s almost the more suitable label. He may never win the crown, in fact he almost certainly won’t. The 39-year old, however, remains one of the best, most consistent entertainers in the UFC.
In an era where casual, or just plain uneducated fans claim that anyone who isn’t a champion sucks (and even some champions wind up with that label the second they lose their titles or don’t perform as expected), Green has managed to make himself as a star while essentially being a journeyman. Nate Diaz might have done it better, but then he actually fought for UFC gold, and alongside brother Nick was able to make the Diaz Brothers brand a cornerstone of the MMA world. Green, with his 15-12-1, 1NC record in the UFC, wins just a bit more than he loses, but rarely disappoints in the cage or on the mic.
His fighting style is fan friendly, something the promotion loves, he’s well spoken and while a bit zany at times, doesn’t go the route of Sean Strickland. At UFC Mexico City, Green put together his first win streak since 2023 and improved to 5-3 in his last eight fights. That will likely earn him a co-main event spot, or even a main event, on a Fight Night card (he’s headlined two of those before, in 2022 against Islam Makhachev, and in 2023 opposite Grant Dawson). He made good use of his time after an explosive finish of Daniel Zellhuber, calling for the return of Nate Diaz when asked who he wanted to fight next.
“Hey Dana, bring my boy Nate Diaz back to the UFC. Let him retire where he belongs,” Green exclaimed. Yes, actually. Do that. Conor McGregor might have first dibs, but Diaz vs. Green would be a wildly fun fight. The trash talk alone would be legendary.
Hail to the King, baby.
Stay the Hell Away from the Apex
We’ve had just one Apex (sorry, Meta Apex) show in 2026 thus far, and having fans back nearly full time has been a breath of fresh air. That, sadly, is about to change, as soon enough, more Apex shows will roll around, with the promotion seemingly intent on running a percentage of their Fight Night events in what amounts to a warehouse. The promotion will host shows there once in March and twice in April, practically telling the casual fanbase to tune out.
Yes, the Apex has added additional seating capacity, making the shows there a little more lively. And yes, Meta (where UFC CEO and President Dana White serves on the Board of Directors) is forking out a bit of cash to the promotion for the naming rights.
It still feels like the place weakly booked Fight Night cards go to die.
When the coronavirus pandemic struck and the world shut down at the start of 2020, the Apex, a production facility the UFC constructed in its home base in Las Vegas designed to house shows like The Ultimate Fighter and Dana White’s Contender Series, was a godsend. It allowed the company to run events while the rest of the sporting world was locked down, giving them what amounted to a captive audience. And there were a few cool perks: you could hear the corners!
Well, really that was the only perk. And six years on, it’s time to start growing the sport again. MMA builds its fanbase when fans can attend events live and in person. Arena shows are the best way to do that. Putting a few hundred extra butts in seats at the Apex doesn’t cut it. The reality is, the UFC charges exorbitantly high site fees to cities where it hosts events, so some of these smaller cards might struggle to find a home, at least with what the promotion is charging.
Back in 2018, Moncton, New Brunswick in Canada paid a quarter of a million dollars to host a UFC Fight Night. Technically, the city itself paid part of the fee, with private interests covering $100,000 of the total. Regardless, the UFC’s site fees have skyrocketed since then.
Still, it’s hard not to hear the reaction of the Mexican crowd to Regina Tarin, a preliminary card fighter making her promotional debut on short notice, and think “this is what every card should be like.”
Because that’s how it used to be.
You Can’t Twerk Your Way to a Title Shot
It’s 2026 and somehow I’m writing about twerking (dumb word, dumb practice) in an article about MMA.
Ailin Perez is a lot of fun, shaking her derrière as her post-fight victory dance notwithstanding. She’s a good interview; our own Gabriel Gonzalez had a fun one with her ahead of UFC Mexico City that turned out far more entertaining than her media day session. In it, Perez claimed the top of the division was running from her, not saying her name. She responded to the “Battle of the Butts” talk (a hypothetical match-up between herself and fellow contender Norma Dumont) by saying she was willing to fight the Brazilian— but suggested she deserved the next title shot (past Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes, or in place of Harrison if need be) outright.
The problem is, a lot of Perez’s marketing focuses on cheeky online posts and her twerking celebrations. Yes, she had put together five straight wins ahead of her UFC Mexico City fight with Macy Chiasson. You can’t just twerk your way to a title shot however. You have to win, which Perez has done, and entertain in the fights themselves, which Perez did not do on Saturday.
A couple of notes here: Perez spent most of the first round on her back, then got the upper hand in the grappling department the next two rounds. Nothing against grappling here, it’s a huge part of MMA and can be wildly entertaining. It’s just that Perez-Chiasson, honestly, wasn’t. That said, referee Raul Porrata yelling “fight” repeatedly through the grappling exchanges was downright bizarre, especially when Perez was trying to advance her position.
In short, it was far from just lay n’ pray, but it wasn’t entertaining enough to bump Perez past Dumont. Quality of wins matters, and like Perez, Dumont has six straight. Only, they’ve come against a former champ in Germaine de Randamie and a former title challenger in Irene Aldana.
Barring the UFC deciding to book an interim title fight featuring Amanda Nunes while Kayla Harrison recovers from surgery, the smart play here is to have Dumont and Perez fight each other.
Book ’em, Danno. Sorry, Dana.
