Bye-Bye, Bobby … Hello, King!

Bobby Green will be no more after UFC Vegas 71.

The man known as “King” for a nickname will be known as King legally after his bout against Jared Gordon this weekend (Sat., April 22, 2023). Green (29-14-1) will be turning a new leaf no matter the result, aiming to snap a two-fight losing skid after tough losses to Drew Dober and the now-Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.

“I’ve been telling everybody that I was retiring after this fight, and what I meant was, I was retiring as Bobby Green,” Green told The Underground (h/t MMA Fighting). “I’m going to be changing my name, and I will no longer be Bobby Green. I’m changing my name to just King. No last name. Just one name. And so this is just the beginning of a new chapter for me.”

Green has always been one of the bigger personalities in the 155-pound division and a true showman inside the Octagon. That part of his real-life persona surely won’t change, but for the 44-fight veteran, an identity switch has been on his mind for quite some time. It was just a matter of finding the right timing after settling numerous personal issues.

“I was fighting so many cases with my baby mommas, child support and s—t like that. They told me, I think I spent like $1,000 or maybe $1,200 to change my name, and they were like, ‘Hey, no, you can’t do that bro, because you’ve got another case, and you’ve got another case,’ and everything, and they didn’t give me money back either,” Green said. “They just took my money, so I was like, ‘F—k.’ I just thought about it for years, and now here it is again, where now I’ve gotten cool with the women in my life and we’re all good, and so I’m just going to [change it]. Now I can do what I want to do and take care of these things.

“I’m just doing something different, like Kanye, like Prince,” he concluded. “I’m just going to be me, bro. I’m just different than everybody else that’s coming around this joint.”

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