It’s good to be king, and now Bobby Green is good being an actual “King” and not just a presumed one.
For years, Green’s nickname has been “King.” Recently, he said he was planning an official name change, and Sunday he posted video on Instagram that indicated he’s gone through with it.
“King” Bobby Green now has an official legal document making him Bobby King. Green showed video of what he said was his birth certificate, along with a second legal document showing the amended name.
Now perhaps the question is what his nickname will change to and what Bruce Buffer is going to do, because the way it stands now, he’s “King” Bobby King, and a simple swap would turn him into “Green” Bobby King,” and that doesn’t seem ideal.
But it appears King Green is where things will land.
Green has been on arguably the best run of his career the past year. He choked out former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson at UFC 291 less than a year ago for a $50,000 bonus. He got another extra check 10 weeks later when he knocked out Grant Dawson, who hadn’t lost before, in just 33 seconds.
After a loss to Jalin Turner, he rebounded in April with a decision win over Jim Miller at UFC 300 for wins in three of his past four fights. That’s his best run in a decade, since he won his first four UFC bouts after he came to the promotion following the Strikeforce merger.
In less than three weeks, Green (31-15-1 MMA, 13-10-1 UFC) has a big opportunity when he takes on highly touted former Cage Warriors champion Paddy Pimblett (21-3 MMA, 5-0 UFC) on enemy turf at UFC 304 in Manchester.
Pimblett, an up-and-comer in the MMA world of trash talk, didn’t take long to seize on an opportunity to predict a win over Green with a Photoshopped image of himself as a “Game of Thrones”-ian warrior and called himself the “Kingslayer.” That character on “Game of Thrones,” Jamie Lanister, was known for, well, uhhh, slaying a king. And also for having all kinds of sexy time with his sister, which is obviously not cool. But presumably, Pimblett only meant “Kingslayer” as a reference to his opponent’s name and not, ya know, the other stuff.
Check out Green’s … err, KING’S … King Green’s … Instagram video and brief comments above. And below, if you want to relive the kind of destruction one of the lightweight division’s best boxers can cause, check out how Miller walked away from UFC 300 in April.