King Green slammed with mix of emotions after easy UFC 328 win over Stephens

King Green slammed with mix of emotions after easy UFC 328 win over Stephens

NEWARK, N.J. – King Green met the media Saturday after his win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 328.

Green (35-17-1 MMA, 16-12-1 UFC) made easy work of Stephens (29-23 MMA, 15-20 UFC) to open the main card at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and submitted him with a first-round rear-naked choke.

Green handed Stephens the 20th loss of his UFC career – a dubious record the Iowan probably would prefer he didn't own. But despite a virtually flawless performance that the broadcast crew raved about, Green wasn't so sure he was even happy.

"I don't even feel like I got in a fight and I didn't like the way I finished it," Green said at his post-fight news conference. "I wanted to knock him out and make sure that I'm solidifying myself as one of the greatest fighters to ever step on these mats.

"And that's what I was saying to Dana (White after the submission) is, I'm one of the greatest to ever do this. If you go through my catalog and really look at my catalog, I've been fighting this way, scrapping and making entertainment. That's what I'm about and that's what I do. I don't care how old. I don't care what happens, what the day changes. That's what I do."

So then if that's what he does, and that's certainly what he did to Stephens, why the long face?

"We're in the business of entertainment, and some people may be like, 'Oh, you're hugging' or you did this and you're that, and so I've always been standing for bringing the fight. A little bit of me is like, 'Ah, you didn't fight – you wrestled. You took him down.'

"But I do want to show people that I've got all the skills. I just be choosing not to use them."

The win was Green's third straight after a rough run that saw him drop three of four fights. But in this current stretch, he's truly showing all sides of his game.

And it's come in just six months. In December, he spoiled Lance Gibson Jr.'s UFC debut with a split call three-round win. He followed it up 10 weeks later with a knockout of Daniel Zellhuber later in the second round. And his submission of Stephens was his first tapout win in nearly three years.

Still, he thinks he's not living up to what he wants to show people – and he'd like to get into a headliner to help prove himself – nearly 30 fights into his UFC tenure.

"I just feel like I'm trash. I feel like I'm nothing," Green said. "You know, I've been that way all my life. People don't even tell me that all my life. I still look at myself as the broke little kid, and I just take what they give me. Beggars can't be choosers. You start thinking like you're high and mighty and trying to ask for stuff: Who the f*ck do you think you are, you know? So I just stay humble and whatever you give me is whatever you give me.