King Green is taking his knockout loss to Mauricio Ruffy at UFC 313 in stride.
The longtime fighter ended up on the wrong end of the early Knockout of the Year frontrunner Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas when Ruffy (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) unleashed a vicious spinning wheel kick that instantly floored Green (32-17-1 MMA, 13-12-1 UFC) in the first round.
It was a spectacular and shocking end to the lightweight bout, which opened the pay-per-view main card. The finish went viral and was No. 2 on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10, and as the defeated fighter, it can be a difficult pill to swallow.
Green, however, was nothing but gracious in defeat.
“This is the game we play,” Green said on Instagram Stories after UFC 313. “There’s wins, there’s losses. It’s just how it goes, you know? Shout out to Ruffy. You did your thing, brother. I’d like to see you have success in your future. Obrigado.”
With the defeat, Green has lost three of his past four and is 3-3 in his past six dating back to a submission of Tony Ferguson at UFC 291 in July 2023. He’s also notched wins over Grant Dawson and Jim Miller, but in the losses during that stretch was finished in Round 1 by Jalin Turner, Paddy Pimblett and Ruffy.
The 38-year-old has been an active fighter since his January 2008 debut, and is one of just a handful of athletes on the UFC roster with more than 50 professional bouts.
Green is showing many of the traits of a fighter trending toward the end of their career, but he was definitive that this loss won’t be his end point.
“Shout out to everyone that rides with me and came through this whole thing,” Green said. “I love all you guys. I thank you so much for supporting me through all this bullsh*t. But we’re not done. I just need some more time to get myself back to the cage. We’ll be back.”
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