UFC on ESPN+ 31 results: Bobby Green beats Lando Vannata in rematch

The Bobby Green and Lando Vannata rematch lived up to the standard set by their first bout, and this time there was a winner.

The rematch between [autotag]Bobby Green[/autotag] and [autotag]Lando Vannata[/autotag] lived up to the “Fight of the Night” standard set by their first bout. However, this time there was a definitive winner.

Green (26-10-1 MMA, 7-5-1 UFC) connected with damaging shots in a toe-to-toe slugfest over three rounds, winning a unanimous decision against Vannata (11-5-2 MMA, 3-5-2 UFC) by scores of 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 in a worthy encore to the original fight at UFC 216 in October 2016, which ended in a split draw.

The lightweight bout opened the UFC on ESPN+ 31 main card, which streamed on ESPN+ from UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Vannata came out of the gate looking strong. He walked Green down with punching combinations and connected with some stinging shots, one of which snapped Green’s head back. Vannata got a little overly eager, though, and walked into a hard straight punch from Green that dropped him with just over two minutes remaining. Vannata regained his composure and got the fight back into striking range, where he traded more hard punches with Green.

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The frantic pace continued to start the second, with both men showing little regard for their own well being as they went after each other with more big strikes. Then for the first time, the action slowed a bit. The strikes came with slightly less frequency, and that gave Green and opening to land a takedown. He couldn’t do much with it before Vannata got back up, however, and they resumed striking over the final two minutes. Green kept his lands low, countering Vannata when he could, but also taking some shots in the process.

The fighters came out looking to put a statement on each other in the final round, and Green made the first big move. He stepped into the pocket for a wild exchange with Vannata, landing a devastating tight elbow to the face of Vannata that led to a knockdown. Vannata immediately went into survival mode, doing his best to endure the onslaught from Green. He made it through the fire, eventually scrambling back up to his feet with roughly three minutes left. Green stayed smart, picking his shots then shooting in for another takedown. He rode out position for a few seconds then the fight got back up tot he feet. They slugged it out for the final stretch, with Green landing the better shots to secure his win.

“I just paid off my house,” a thrilled Green said post-fight. “I’m two up now. We went to a draw, and I won this one, so I’m two up.”

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 31 results:

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