Is Moving Bobby Green To Welterweight the Best Solution?

The extent of Green’s medical emergency was later revealed on his Instagram story. In the story, Green said that he had kidney failure and air pockets in his lungs. The cause of this medical emergency was a bad weight cut.

After that brutal weight cut, it is fair to wonder if Green is capable of making the cut down to 155 pounds safely in the future. For some fighters, the weight cut gets to be too much, forcing them to go up a division. Those fighters have had varying luck. While some have made the move up to great success, others have had their careers completely stalled due to the change.

Would Moving Bobby Green To Welterweight Be Successful?

Standing at 5’10” with a 71″ reach, Green certainly has the size to be successful in the welterweight division. Those measurables match up with top UFC welterweights like title challenger Gilbert Burns (5’10”, 71″), #2 ranked Colby Covington (5’11, 72″), and #4 ranked Jorge Masvidal (5’11, 73″).

Green has the grappling to hang with anyone in the welterweight division. Being a highly-skilled BJJ practitioner, Green has the ability to frustrate wrestlers and neutralize the standup game. His striking abilities aren’t something to ignore either, as he has eight career wins by knockout.

More than anything, Green is extremely successful at implementing his gameplan and sticking to it. He has 10 career wins by decision, showing that he knows how to make sure the judges feel he deserves the win. But would he be able to do the same thing against the top welterweights in the UFC? There’s really only one way to find out.

Debut Opponent

So, say moving Bobby Green to welterweight becomes a reality, who should he face in his debut? He’s sitting outside of the top-15 lightweights, so if Green were to move up to welterweight he would undoubtedly need to make a big splash in his debut to get the attention of the rest of the division. Look no further than the enigmatic Mike Perry.

Mike Perry

Of all the potential opponents Green could have in a welterweight debut, Mike Perry would certainly be the biggest draw. Coming off of a decision loss to Tim Means, Perry would be highly motivated to put on a show against Green and get back into the win column. However, if Green follows his usual gameplan, he should have no problem dispatching the ever-dangerous Perry.

Nicolas Dalby

If Perry isn’t an option, the UFC could also look to match Nicolas Dalby up against Bobby Green. These two are similar in size and have the same approach to fighting. That approach is to implement your gameplan and grind out the win by any means necessary. With nine wins by decision, Dalby knows how to get the judges on his side, just like Green. This would be a great fight where Green could show off his full range of abilities to the rest of the welterweight division.

Daniel Rodriguez

A fight against Daniel Rodriguez would be the perfect chance for Green to test his chin in a higher weight class. Green has only lost by straight knockout once in his 39-fight career. This came in 2016 at the hands of Dustin Poirier. It’s safe to say that Green has a decent chin. But everyone knows the higher up in weight you go, the more power the fighters have. Rodriguez is the owner of seven wins by knockout, so he would certainly give Green’s chin a good test before he faces a step up in competition.

Honorable Mentions: Alex Oliveira, Niko Price, Tim Means, Vicente Luque.

Do you think moving Bobby Green to welterweight is the best option? Let us know your opinion in the comments below!

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