Islam Makhachev continued his reign of dominance over fellow lightweight fighters over the weekend, making quick work of short-notice opponent Bobby Green in the featured bout at a UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas.
Makhachev required just 3:23 to finish Green with a technical knockout. Makhachev, a teammate and pupil of retired former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, used his dominant grappling and ground-and-pound attack to force a referee’s stoppage.
Green was a replacement for Beneil Dariush, who withdrew from his matchup with Makhachev after sustaining an injury in training.
The replacement bout took place at a 160-pound catchweight since Green fought at UFC 271 earlier in the month and had little time to prepare and make weight.
Makhachev, 19-1 in MMA and on a 10-fight winning streak, was the No. 4-ranked lightweight contender prior to beating Green. Many feel that, despite his ranking, Makhachev is currently the best lightweight in the UFC.
Current 155-pound champion Charles Oliveira is scheduled to defend his title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 274 in May and Makhachev could potentially end up facing the winner later this year.
Makhachev is listed as a significant favourite over both Oliveira (-300) and Gaethje (-600) on futures betting markets, according to BestFightOdds.
Here are the complete results from UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Green.
MAIN CARD
-- Islam Makhachev def. Bobby Green by TKO (punches)
-- Wellington Turman def. Misha Cirkunov by submission (armbar)
-- Priscila Cachoeira def. Ji Yeon Kim by unanimous decision
-- Arman Tsarukyan def. Joel Álvarez by TKO
-- Armen Petrosyan def. Gregory Rodrigues by by split decision
PRELIMINARY CARD
-- Ignacio Bahamondes def. Rong Zhu by submission (brabo choke)
-- Josiane Nunes def. Ramona Pascual unanimous decision
-- Terrance McKinney def. Fares Ziam by submission (rear-naked choke)
-- Jonathan Martinez def. Alejandro Pérez by unanimous decision
