It took each of these fighters a while to get their UFC careers
going, but they meet at the right time in what should be a
barnburner. For a good while, it looked like Green’s UFC career
would be absolutely cursed. A win over Josh Thomson
in 2014 served as a bit of a breakout for the charismatic veteran,
but his career eventually lost all of its momentum thanks to a
morass of injury layoffs and controversial decision losses.
However, he was one of a few fighters who managed to break through
during the chaotic nature of the pandemic. His health cooperated
enough that Green stepped in and fought as often as possible, and
the judges finally started rewarding his counter-heavy style with
some success on the scorecards. Since the return of fans, Green has
separated himself enough as a crowd favorite to ride the most
high-profile success of his career, even getting the late-notice
call for a main event against Islam
Makhachev in February. It did not go particularly well for
Green, but the loss did not hurt his stock much. He is right back
to prominent spots, including this potential war. Dober hung around
the bottom of the roster and did not show much for his first two
years in the UFC, but he finally put together a strong performance
in a breakout win over Scott
Holtzman in 2016, showing himself as an effective high-volume
kickboxer. Dober was still fairly lost against any sort of
high-level wrestler, but he earned a name as an exciting
lightweight even before developing some knockout power to his game
circa 2019. A lot of the same issues persist when it comes to
facing stronger wrestlers or more technically adept strikers, but
Dober is as reliable a gamer as there is on the UFC roster,
particularly thanks to his seeming indestructibility. That should
make this 15 minutes of non-stop action, even if this looks like a
clear Green win on paper. He should be able to score some counters
on the feet more than he gets caught, and he also has the potential
change-up of pivoting to his wrestling when needed. The pick is
Green via decision.
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