[autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag] was in good spirits after he took a brutal loss at the hands of Jalin Turner at UFC on ESPN 52.
Green (31-15-1 MMA, 12-10-1 UFC) was dropped by Turner (14-7 MMA, 7-4 UFC) early in the first round of their lightweight co-headliner on Saturday at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. What followed was a prolonged series of ground shots while he was already badly hurt, which caused outrage across the MMA community toward referee Kerry Hatley, who eventually stepped in.
UFC CEO Dana White called the stoppage “one of the worst I’ve ever seen,” and Turner agreed it was probably a failure by the referee.
Green, however, directed no ire toward Hatley in his first statement after the loss. In fact, he praised Turner for his efforts.
“You win some, you lose some, I guess,” Green said on his Instagram Stories. “I just want to show people that you’ve got to keep it ‘G’ when you win, and you’ve got to keep it ‘G’ when you lose. Shout out to Jalin. You did your thing, brother. I’m so happy for you. It means the world that you stepped up on short notice and you’re having your success. So shout out
to you.”
Bobby Green’s reaction to his knockout loss, via his IG story pic.twitter.com/hXAYHjcPch
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) December 3, 2023
At 37, Green came into UFC on ESPN 52 on a late career surge, having won his past two fights against Tony Ferguson and Grant Dawson. The loss to Turner was a difficult setback, but he made it clear this is by no means the end of him.
“Just another step in the thing – another step in the career,” Green said. “There’s ups. There’s downs. I’m going to keep it going. I ain’t going nowhere.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 52.