In an unexpected catchweight delight, “King” Green (32-17-1, 1 NC;
13-12-1, 1 NC UFC) will sneak in his second fight of 2025 right
before the buzzer. He takes this match at a 160-pound catchweight
likely due to it being put together about a week ago. Matching up
in the cage will be Bellator expat Gibson Jr. (9-1, 0-0 UFC)—for
the purposes of this play-by-play, his “junior” name suffix will be
omitted—who will be competing for the first time in over a year. It
should be noted that Gibson now completes the third father-son duo
to both compete in the Octagon, joining Randy and Ryan Couture as
well as Gilbert and Elijah Smith. Accompanying the athletes in the
Octagon will be referee Mark Smith, who watches on as the two elect
not to touch gloves. Green walks the newcomer down flexing his pectorals, hands down by
his hips. Gibson lands first with a thudding calf kick, and Green
stares at him like a disappointed father. Gibson fires off kicks at
his opponent, and Green showboats and wipes off his shoulder to
suggest nothing landed. Green gets off a body kick, and Gibson has
another high kick blocked in the nick of time. Green stays evasive
and starts motioning like he is dribbling a basketball and
otherwise goofing around in the midst of a fist fight. This makes
Gibson back off, so Green points at the ground and says, “come
here!” Gibson obliges, rushing at him for a possible clinch, but
Green slides to the side to stay in striking range. The American
jabs the body with his foot, and he stomp kicks at the knee to
hyperextend Gibson’s lead leg. Green’s hands remain as low as they can go, and he connects with a
body kick and is well out of range before Gibson can get him back
with anything but his own kick to the ribs. Green slips to score a
right hand, and Gibson cracks him with a left that stands Green up.
Green tries to play it off like he is fine, and Gibson picks up on
the tell and charges him. Green shakes it off and starts getting in
Gibson’s head again, chattering at him and telling him to come at
him. Green walks Gibson around the cage, and Gibson pitches a kick
at him that Green catches. Green slips in a short left hand and
splits the guard with a front kick, and he has Gibson flustered
with his approach. Green ducks down to land a right hand, and
Gibson buzzes him behind the ear. Green tells to keep throwing with
him, and Gibson looks for knees instead and a possible clinch.
Green shakes his head, dodges a few punches and salutes. The
strange round ends, and scores could go either way. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Green Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Green Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Green

Green wades out of his corner fearlessly, hands characteristically
by his hips, and he uses head movement and footwork to avoid the
early offense coming his direction. He gets in close to force
Gibson off-balance from a front kick, and Green’s overhand right
knocks Gibson to the floor. Gibson leaps back up and hurls a left
hand at him, Green dodges and goes “woo,” and he proceeds to mess
with Gibson while tossing one-twos at him. Gibson tosses out a low
kick, and Green’s front kick response ricochets off the cup. Smith
calls time, and Green starts clapping and saying “we gotta get this
thing going” as if to hurry Gibson back to combat. The Canadian
keeps ignoring him, so Green apologizes to Gibson’s father for the
accidental foul. Smith warns Green to avoid kicking the low body,
because it is the second kick he has gotten away with there. Gibson
marches back and forth adjusting his cup, and Green is hanging out
waiting for the recovery time to elapse and talking to anyone
without earshot who bothers listening. The roughly two-minute break
concludes with a clap of hands from the two fighters. When they
resume, Green aims a side kick to the chest, and he wraps a kick
around the guard. Gibson rushes him and throws a high kick to open
up a level change, and he puts “King” on the floor and advances to
side control in a hurry. Gibson clings with his right arm around
the back of Green’s head, until Green scrambles to get back to his
feet. Gibson holds him from behind in hopes of a mat return. Gibson knees him in the chin and stomps at his toes, staying up
close in the clinch to not give Green any space. Green nearly grabs
the fence a few times, and Gibson drops down for a single. Green
recovers his footing and pushes off Gibson’s face, and he mean mugs
him while walking him down. A jab from Gibson opens a tiny cut on
Green’s right cheek, one he ignores as he lumbers forward pitching
long punches at him. Gibson sits down on a strong right hand, and
Green partially rolls with it and offers back a body kick while
Gibson is strafing to the side. They clash low kicks, and Green
scores a left hand and points at his foe. Gibson throws back only
to be well out of range, while Green can get to him with a long
front kick to the sternum. Green clips his man with two crisp
punches, and he looks for a hook third but is caught on the way in
with a solid inside low kick that stumbles him. Green gathers his
thoughts and puts on his poker face to start bombing Gibson with a
barrage of punches. Gibson barely misses a spin right before the
bell, and Green wipes his brow in a sign of relief that he did not
get tagged with it. The round ends. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Green Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Gibson Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Gibson

Like the previous rounds, Green is not remotely concerned about
what comes his direction, even though Gibson landed flush on him a
few times towards the end of the round. Gibson keeps his back to
the fence, and Green further drives him back with a push kick to
the solar plexus. Green aims a low kick and misses on his other,
flashier kicks. Gibson reaches out with his own kick, and Green
no-sells it. Green lands a couple more front kicks while Gibson is
still processing, and he blocks a high kick and points to his arm
as if to tell someone watching—like a judge—that it hit him on the
arm. Green’s trash talk starts to get louder, and he starts to get
a bit more amped up. Gibson stays on his bike, timing a kick from
Green to shoot for a takedown. He takes Green to his seat, but
Green pushes off and scampers back up within seconds. Green goes for a right to the ribs, and he scores another right
over the top in rapid succession. Gibson’s offense is limited to
single strikes, like a huge right hand that Green barely dodges in
time. Green strings together a number of punches ending with a
solid left, and he starts to walk Gibson down doing the typical
Diaz brother strut. Gibson narrowly avoids a one-two, but a second
lands on his nose. He has a kick caught, and Green throws him to
the wall and then surprises the Canadian by completing a sudden
takedown. Green moves himself to north-south position and starts
unleashing heavy right hands to the body, and Gibson is warned
repeatedly for hooking his toes in the fence links. Smith has to
slap at them a few times, all while Green is hammering “Fearless”
with concussive hammerfists. The oddball fight ends with Green
letting Gibson have it. Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Green (30-27 Green) Dayne Fox scores the round: 10-9 Green (29-28 Green) Scottie Smith scores the round: 10-9 Green (29-28 Green)

Lance Gibson Jr.

Fight History

Fighter Skills Radar

Key Insights

Striking Profile

Key Insights

Grappling Profile

Key Insights

Conclusions Summary