The Sun Sentinel originally reported the charges levied onto Desmond Green. The list of charges are as follows:

• Two second-degree felony counts of DUI manslaughter
• Four third-degree felony counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury
• Third-degree felony possession of cocaine
• Five misdemeanor counts of DUI property damage
• Third-degree felony driving with a suspended license

The incident occurred in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Interstate-75 back on August 18 of last year. At around 6 a.m., Green swerved into the path of a tractor-trailer, and caused a five-car pile-up. Emelina Morfa and Emma Suarez Hernandez lost their lives in the crash. They were 67 and 76 respectively. Two more women were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Green suffered only minor injuries.

At the time of the accident, Green was slurring his speech and it was later confirmed that he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, testing positive for a blood-alcohol level of 0.14. On top of that, a metal grinder with marijuana residue (that Green tried to discard) and a plastic bag containing cocaine were found belonging to Green. He was also driving on a suspended license and was not wearing a seatbelt.

Desmond Green has fought three times for the UFC since the August 18 accident, losing to Mairbek Taisumov, then knocking out Ross Pearson and defeating the debuting Charles Jourdain. The Jourdain fight took place in Green’s hometown of Rochester, New York, on May 18. “Predator” is 23-8 overall in his career and was a former Titan FC featherweight champion. His career as a mixed martial artist is all but over.

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Rochester, NY — Desmond Green promised he’d get a good turnout at UFC Rochester. The only Rochester native on the card actually had to beg to get on it, and it’s a good thing he did. He had the biggest cheers, the most support, save perhaps for the main event. And in terms of media attention, Green was second to none. Every TV and radio station in the city turned out to cover Green, and just Green for the most part.

Which meant that the back stage area following Green’s win over UFC newcomer Charles Jourdain was crowded. The local media got in position immediately following his win, circled around the interview area like hawks. Clearly unaware how long it takes a fighter to clear the commission following a bout.

It didn’t matter. Their guy had won. Green was one of the biggest stories of the night. Hometown hero triumphs. The Rush–Henrietta High School grad and University of Buffalo alum went the distance against the scrappy Jourdain, then got his hand raised.

Speaking to reporters including Cageside Press after the fight, he admitted that “the roar that I got from that crowd, I had no clue it was going to be that big.”

“I knew there was going to be a roar,” he said, but “I could literally feel the vibrations through my body as they were roaring.” The turnout certainly made it a night to remember. “I’m just like, in my head I’m like ‘this is for me? Little ol’ me? I love you Rochester but damn I didn’t know you was all gonna come out like this!’ I’m going to be dreaming of this night for the next couple of weeks.”

Green was banged up after the fight, a sign of the gritty war that unfolded across three rounds at UFC Rochester. “I hurt my elbow a lot. When I first hurt my elbow, it was halfway through the third. I kind of thought I broke it. I’m like ‘oh my god, just get through the round, I don’t care if my arm falls off, just get through this round, you won, secure the win.'”

The final seconds of the fight saw Green on his heels, Jourdain charging forward looking for a late finish. “Those last ten seconds, it looked like I was running away, but I was just so happy, I was like ‘just get away from me guy, get away, I won, just get away from me.'”

“I just wanted to finish it out,” Green said. “It was great.”

Encircled by reporters, ‘The Predator’ admitted that he’d never seen so many cameras before. “No and I love it. I love the cameras. It’s just crazy.”

“It took me five years to get to the UFC,” he recalled. He was nearly 25 fights into his career before he finally made it to the big show. “That’s some guy’s career. But I never, not once was I discouraged. Last year was one of the roughest years inside and outside the octagon of my life. My manager [Glenn Robinson] dying, the car accident I got in, I lost two fights in a row. But I stayed faithful, and I got rewarded for it.”

Opponent Charles Jourdain pushed Green further than expected Saturday night, and Des was certainly complimentary afterward. “Hat’s off to Charles. I didn’t take him lightly at all, but I will say he brought a lot more than I thought he would bring,” Green said. “I was hitting him with some hard shots, and he never backed down, he was always moving forward. He had a gas tank on him. I knew wrestling was his weak point, but it was stronger than I thought it was.” Jourdain, explained Green, didn’t concede to the takedowns, threw up submissions in defense, and continually escaped.

So, continued Green, he sees a future for the Canadian. “He’s light for 155. He’s going to be going back down to 45 I heard, and I really think he’s going to have success there. Hat’s off to Charles, thanks for taking this fight, without him I wouldn’t be able to fight in Rochester. So hat’s off to him again.”

As for what fighting at home meant to Green, aside from the economic boost the show will bring the city, “I hope I showed them that kids can dream. In Rochester, we only have a couple of professional athletes. I’m one of the only people actually from from Rochester to make it to the UFC. So I hope more kids do it, I hope more kids jump into the sport, it’s an ever-growing sport.”

For Green, it’s Hard Knocks 365 in Florida that has helped him grow, personally. “It’s brought my game to many, many different levels. We got some of the best guys at our gym.” That, of course, includes welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. Not to mention fellow UFC Rochester winner Vicente Luque, retired but still training Rumble Johnson, and ex-champ Robbie Lawler. “And we all push each other. Sparring days in that room, you could sell tickets to.”

Moving forward, Green is looking for a high level guy. And he’d like to make some travel plans. “They’re going to Australia in October or something, I’ve always wanted to see a Kangaroo. I have a thing for Kangaroos,” he exclaimed. “I always wanted to see one, so Sean Shelby, thanks for putting me on this card, if you want to put me on the Australia card, I’d be more than happy to go out there and perform.”

Watch the full UFC Rochester post-fight press scrum with Des Green above!

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Des Green will be fighting in his hometown at UFC Rochester looking to start a winning streak. Green was a former Titan FC champion and Bellator competitor who was 19-5 when he signed with the UFC. Green is an even 3-3 since then with wins over Josh Emmett, Gleison Tibau, and most recently, Ross Pearson. Of his 22 career victories, only seven have been stopped before the final bell.

Charles Jourdain will be making his promotional debut at UFC Rochester after a 9-1 run in Canada. “Air” Jourdain has stoppages in all nine of his victories with six knockouts and three submissions. He is currently on a four-fight win streak that includes a defense of the TKO featherweight title. While he prefers the featherweight division, he’ll be moving up to lightweight for this opportunity.

Jourdain started the fight off walking forward, looking to land a flying knee. But, Green is moving easily out of the way. Jourdain threw a lot but couldn’t seem to find his timing. Green threw a lot less, but countered well. Jourdain has been blitzing in all round but Green would eventually get the body lock and get the takedown. Jourdain was able to get back to his feet and that’s where the round ends. Cageside Press scores round one a 10-9 for Green.

Jourdain starts off round two much like he did round one, putting on pressure and walking forward. Green was still countering well, but Jourdain is staying busy, mainly with the leg kicks. Green had success when he’s moving forward landing good body strikes in the clinch. Jourdain came charging forward looking to create some action as Green continued to circle out of danger. Cageside Press scores round 2 a 10-9 for Jourdain.

Jourdain continues to attack the lead left leg kick, it being the most significant strike in the fight thus far. Green staring to find his range at times, but backing up too much, allowing Jourdain to set the pace. With that said, with a little over a minute and a half left, Green times a good takedown. Jourdain gets back to his feet twice getting dumped right back down before. Jourdain gets to his feet with 30 seconds left, sprinting at Green, but Green runs until the final bell.

👂 "ROCHESTER, WHAT'S UP?!" – @predatortoon #UFCRochester pic.twitter.com/MBGdo4LbaL

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 18, 2019

Desmond Green def. Charles Jourdain by Unanimous Decision (30-27×2, 29-28)

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Rochester, NY — Des Green campaigned hard to get on the UFC Rochester card. No wonder. The Rochester native has never fought at home. Not in the UFC, not in his career period. After a quick knockout of Ross Pearson at UFC on ESPN 2 in Philadelphia at the end of March, Green (22-8) let the UFC know he wanted to fight in his home town.

Initially, he told reporters during the UFC Rochester media day this week, the promotion said no. But the call eventually came, with opponent Charles Jourdain attached. A newcomer, but Green didn’t care. He was just stoked to be fighting at home. That was his feeling at the open workouts. And he’s “probably getting even more excited now that we’re getting closer,” he said.

In the past, Green fought close to Rochester. Close, but no cigar. Still, he had great turnouts in terms of support. “Buffalo and Utica, I had like a crazy showing,” he recalled. Buffalo was UFC 210 in 2017, and he certainly had fans in his corner. “A lot of people, over 100 people coming in, from here, they’re supporting me.”

“So I already know fighting here alone, it’s going to be nuts,” he said. While Buffalo and Utica might have had 100 Green fans, ‘The Predator’ expects tenfold that in Rochester this weekend. “I was telling people, I’m going to have at least over 1,000 people, 100%. We got three booths, at least three booths.” Booths, he noted, hold 50 people or so each. His high school coach has one. His family has one. So does his “second family” from his college days.

Green’s phone is getting blown up with supporters. “It’s just going to be amazing out there. I can’t wait.”

The home field advantage could prove to be huge against Jourdain, who is both making his UFC debut, and fighting away from home (Jourdain hails from Quebec, Canada).

“This is a sport. It’s just like any other sport. It’s a little bit rougher and everything, but you got home court advantage in sports,” Green explained. He doesn’t see MMA as much different from football or basketball in that sense. “Everybody knows, when you’re in football and you play at your home stadium, you always perform better.”

“Basketball, when you’re at home, you do better than when you’re on the road. This is no different,” he continued. “Me fighting at home, this is real home court advantage. It doesn’t get no better than this. Literally, my house is less than fifteen minutes from the Blue Cross Arena.”

“That just lets you know how much of a home this is. I’m going to be taking full advantage of it,” said Green, “just soaking up all of the energy, and shooting it right back at Charles.”

UFC Rochester (UFC Fight Night 152) takes place Saturday, May 18 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY. The event airs live on ESPN+ in the U.S., and Fight Pass/TSN in Canada.

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New Yorker Desmond Green will fight in his hometown at UFC Rochester against two-weight TKO champion Charles Jourdain in a lightweight contest. The news was reported by Mathieu Boulay, and then confirmed by Ariel Helwani.

Desmond Green, 29, was desperate to be on the upcoming Rochester card. Most recently, he retired Ross Pearson as he knocked out the English veteran in the first round with strikes last month at UFC Philadelphia. Prior to that, Green was coming off a close decision loss to top lightweight standout Maribek Taisumov in Taisumov’s home country of Russia. Throughout his Octagon career, Green holds victories over Gleison Tibau and Josh Emmett, whilst coming up short to Rustam Khabilov and Michel Prazeres. Despite a 3-3 record, Green is a worthy competitor in the stacked lightweight division.

Jourdain, 23, is a Canadian prospect who has thrived in top Canadian promotion TKO, who produced the likes of former welterweight king Georges St. Pierre. Since joining TKO in 2016, Jourdain fought seven times, winning six of them and winning two championship bouts. He captured the featherweight title with a first-round Guillotine victory over TriStar’s Alex Morgan at TKO 45. Jourdain then went a weight class up and defeated short notice replacement Damien Lapilus for the interim TKO lightweight title. Beforehand, he was supposed to face Jesse Ronson but Ronson was forced out due to a skin infection. Jourdain was victorious, defeating the 30-fight veteran Lapilus via TKO in round five. In nine career wins, Jourdain has finished all nine bouts, six of those coming via way of knockout. He earned his moniker “Air” with a flying knee knockout in his professional debut.

UFC Rochester: dos Anjos vs. Lee takes place May 18, live from Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena.

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Philadelphia, PA — It’s safe to say that UFC Philadelphia was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for UFC lightweight Desmond Green. Coming into the bout, he’d lost three of five fights, all via decision. All losses outside the U.S. In two of those losses, his opponent had missed weight. So getting a quick finish against Ross Pearson at the Philly card (UFC on ESPN 2) was huge.

Something else was on his mind Saturday as well, he told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. Blackzilians founder Glenn Robinson, who passed away last September. Robinson was also a manager for Green, who helped get him signed with the UFC. His relationship with the fighter went past that, however.

“Before I even got into the UFC, this guy, he helped me and my family, my kids move from New York to Florida. Gave us a place to stay, found me a job, let me train on the team, introduced me to all these great guys. Had a couple of fights, and then he ended up getting me signed in the UFC,” Green remembered. Clearly, Robinson had a huge impact on his career, and was actively involved right up to ‘The Predator’s’ last fight.

“He always had big dreams for me. He passed away literally two days after my last fight, in Moscow,” Green continued. “The day before he passed away, he let me know ‘good fight, it’s a tough decision, when you get back, come to the house, we’ll have dinner, we’ll talk about our next move.’ I just know for sure that he would have been proud of this.”

“Leading up all week, I didn’t say anything to the media, but my family knew I was dedicating this fight to him.” With that in mind, the Green’s finish of Pearson, a veteran in the sport, is all the more impressive.

Green also broke down the finish back stage, recalling that “after the first two shots, I seen it, he like shut it off. I went for a third one, he came up, but he wasn’t guarding the shot. It was kind of like, he had both hands on the ground.” It wasn’t a good spot for Pearson to be in, for sure. “I was putting my whole hip in it. I was taking a page out of my boy Rumble’s book when he fought Gustafsson. He really was leaning into the punches. After like the fourth one, I knew it was going to be over. Even if [Pearson] got up, I knew his head wasn’t going to be where it was supposed to be.”

Green would have liked a bonus — “man I got four kids, trust me. I’m hoping I get that bonus for sure” — but unfortunately, it didn’t come. Jack Hermansson and Paul Craig scored the Performance of the Night awards instead.

However, the win will remain sweet for Green after struggling with decisions. “With me being on the bad end of three decisions out of the country, I really really wanted to take it out of the judge’s hands,” he told reporters Saturday. “This is my fifth fight in the UFC on top of that. You don’t want to be known as that guy, the Decisionator, you know what I mean? The UFC is known as putting you on the back burner if all you do is go fifteen minutes.”

“This is my first fight of 2019. I wanted to kick it off with a finish, and I got it.” The next step, now, is getting on May’s UFC Rochester card. Green, a Rochester native, said post-fight in the octagon that he’d fight for free if need be. As long as he can take part. After battling back from injuries, coming out unscathed from the Pearson fight is the best possible scenario for Green. Because a short turnaround is very possible.

It doesn’t matter who the fight comes against, as long as Green is in Rochester. “Location is the number one thing. I literally will fight anybody,” he said backstage. “I don’t care who it is, I’ll sign it. As long as I’m on that card. I don’t want to fight for free, but I will. Put me on that card, man. Please man, please!”

Watch the full UFC Philadelphia (UFC on ESPN 2) post-fight press scrum with Desmond Green above!

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Des Green was once a Titan FC featherweight champion but is now committed to the lightweight division after the weight-cuts did damage to his gas tank. Green is 2-3 in the UFC with wins over Josh Emmett and Gleison Tibau. Two of those losses, though, were in fights where his opponent missed weight by five pounds. He’ll be looking to recover from one of those, a loss against a heavy Mairbek Taisumov, at UFC Philadelphia.

Ross Pearson has been in the UFC for 10 years since winning the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. He holds an even 12-12 record in the Octagon and has lost five of his last six fights. The British striker holds notable victories over Paul Felder and Gray Maynard in his long career. He’ll be looking to bounce back from a Fight of the Night loss to John Makdessi in his last appearance.

A bit of a feeling out process in the first minute with both fighters throwing leg kicks and gauging the distance. Pearson lunges in and gets caught with a counter right hook that sits him on his butt. Green times the level change from the British veteran and lands a knee to ward off the takedown attempt. Green shoots in for his own takedown, a single leg, and transitions to a double leg. The Predator immediately started throwing aggressive ground and pound strikes with little resistance, leaving the ref no choice but to step in and stop the fight. Pearson looked to be more focused on standing up than defending himself.

Green capitalized on the big moment by asking for a spot on UFC Rochester, saying he’d fight in his hometown for free.

Desmond Green def. Ross Pearson by TKO (Punches) in Round 1 (2:52)

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Weight has been the topic of this UFC Belem main card fight, with Michel Prazeres missing the mark. Green took the fight despite Prazeres weighing more than the agreed upon 172-pounds on fight night, with Prazeres weighing over 180 entering the Octagon.

Desmond Green is a former Titan FC featherweight champion who is now a permanent lightweight. The New Yorker defeated now top-five contender Josh Emmett in his UFC debut via split decision. “The Predator” will look to bounce back from a loss to tough Russian grappler Rustam Khabilov.

Michel Prazeres is a dominant grappler but has had issues making weight, missing the mark in three of his last four fights (including this one). Prazeres is on a five-fight win streak, winning his last two by north-south choke.

Prazeres and Green traded takedowns to start the bout but Prazeres used Green’s takedown to reverse to top position. Green was able to escape and push Prazeres against the fence. Prazeres scored the next takedown after they returned to the center of the Octagon, but was stood up by the referee after landing punches to the back of the head. Green landed a takedown in the final ten seconds to end the round.

Green ate a hook to start the second round but landed a takedown in response. Prazeres kicked Green off of him shortly after and returned to the feet. Green got him to the fence again, but this time, Prazeres spun off and landed a takedown. Prazeres was able to get to mount, and looked for an arm-triangle but Green defended nicely and returned to his feet. Prazeres stayed on him and dove for a guillotine. Green escaped, but Prazeres was still in top position. He moved to north-south and looked for another finish from the position, but Green survived and the bell rang shortly after.

Nothing much happened to start the final round with only a leg kick from Prazeres in the opening minute. After each man fails a takedown attempt, Prazeres takes down his visibly tired opponent. Prazeres gets his back in the midst of a transition as Green grabs the leg of Prazeres for a takedown. Prazeres pins his opponent there and rides out the round.

Michel Prazeres def. Desmond Green by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28 x2)

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