PHILADELPHIA – Demond Green knows exactly what he wants next after scoring a first-round finish of Ross Pearson on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 2.
Green (22-8 MMA, 3-3 UFC) scored one of the bigger wins of his career when he crushed Pearson (20-16 MMA, 12-13 UFC) with strikes in the opening round of their lightweight fight, which took place at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia and aired on ESPN.
It was a perfect result for him, because with the UFC going to his hometown of Rochester, N.Y., on May 18, Green said he has to be on the card, which serves as UFC on ESPN+ 9.
“I couldn’t ask for a better outcome,” Green told reporters, including MMA Junkie, post-fight at UFC on ESPN 2. “To be really honest, I was facing three big injuries. I messed up my groin, I was out for six months from my last fight because I had a torn ligament in my hand, and then I messed up some ligaments in my toe. Leading up to this fight, I faced a lot of adversity. I wanted to get on that May 18 card, so I wanted to get a finish. I didn’t want to hurt myself any more, and I literally didn’t get touched. I didn’t hurt myself.
“Monday, I’m getting back in the gym, and you better believe I’m getting on social media and telling Dana (White) and Sean (Shelby) and Mick (Maynard) to put me on that card in Rochester.”
Although he just beat an opponent who was a winner of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series and has 26 UFC fights, Green said he’s not looking for any specific matchup in Rochester. He wants on the card against anyone and is willing to go to great lengths to make it happen.
“I will literally fight anybody,” Green said. “I don’t care who it is. I’ll sign it as long as I’m on that card. I don’t want to fight for free, but I will. Put me on that card. Please, man. Please.”
After going the distance in his first five UFC appearances and losing some very close decisions, Green knew he needed a decisive result at UFC on ESPN 2. He said he thought he would put Pearson away in the second round but will gladly take the first-round TKO.
“With me being on the bad end of three decisions out of the country, I really, really wanted to take it out of the judges’ hands,” Green said. “This is my fifth fight in the UFC, on top of that. You don’t want to be known as that guy as the decisionator. The UFC is known for putting you on the back burner if all you do is go 15 minutes. I really wanted to set the tone.”
To hear more from Green, check out the video above.
For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN 2, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
