Desmond Green slept in Reebok gear in days leading up to UFC 210 debut victory

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Desmond Green could hardly contain his jubilance after making a successful UFC debut on Saturday at UFC 210.

It took Green (20-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) until his 25th professional fight to finally make his way to the octagon. It was worth the wait, though, because the situation couldn’t have been more perfect for the New York native. He competed close to his home town and earned a split-decision victory over Josh Emmett (11-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on the UFC 210 card at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Green was so happy to finally be in the UFC, in fact, he said he spent essentially the entire week wearing his Reebok apparel.

“I slept in my (Reebok) sweat pants, hoodie and shirt,” Green told reporters following his win at UFC 210. “I was just so happy. I stayed in those clothes for basically all week.

“The first time I changed out of those clothes was today, and that was to change into more UFC clothes. Nine times out of 10, I’m probably going to wear the UFC gear to the club.”

Green got a hero’s welcome from the fans at UFC 210. He was cheered as loudly as – and perhaps even more than – the biggest names on the card. He gave the fans what they wanted to see by getting his hand raised, and although it wasn’t a particularly dominant performance or highlight-reel finish, Green said it was one of the best moments of his life.

“That roar was just unbelievable – I never thought I would have had that so early in my career,” Green said. “It was the perfect debut. It was basically my home town. I live an hour away from here. I went to college in Buffalo. It was unbelievable. I wish I could live it again right now.”

Green nearly had his perfect moment taken away by the judges, though. The competitive lightweight fight went down to the wire, but in the end, two of the three scorecards went in Green’s favor. It wasn’t the type of ideal showing that would display the best of what he has to offer, but Green said it was a solid introductory fight that he can build off next time he competes.

“When they read the first one 29-28 for Emmett I was like, ‘What? Come on,'” Green said. “Then when they read the 30-27, before they even said who it was, I just started jumping. I don’t think it should have been a split, but I’ll take it.

“A win is a win. I got that UFC debut out of the way. Next time I’ll be more active.”

For complete coverage of UFC 210, check out the UFC Events section of the site.