5 great UFC fighters who struggle to finish their opponents

#4. Bobby Green – UFC lightweight

Bobby Green's fighting style has taken him to the final buzzer on multiple occasions in the octagon

When longtime veteran Bobby Green finished off Al Iaquinta via knockout last November, it’s safe to say that UFC fans across the world were left absolutely stunned.

The fact that ‘King’ was able to beat the highly-rated Iaquinta was a surprise in itself. However, the bigger shocker was the fact that Green was able to secure a finish. Incredibly, it was his first one inside the octagon since November 2013.

In the time between those two bouts, Green had fought on a total of 14 occasions. The only one of those fights that failed to go the distance was his 2016 knockout loss to Dustin Poirier.

Despite his lack of finishes, it’s safe to say that nobody could really label Green a dull fighter to watch. With an unorthodox boxing style and a powerful wrestling game, ‘King’ has put on a number of excellent fights over the years, including his wild draw with Lando Vannata and fun fights with Francisco Trinaldo and Clay Guida.

However, the Strikeforce veteran still clearly struggles to finish his opponents off, meaning that when his name appears on a UFC card, it’s always likely that at least one fight on the night will go the distance.

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#3. Katlyn Chookagian – UFC flyweight

Katlyn Chookagian has been a decision machine throughout her UFC career

While current UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko is clearly head and shoulders above the rest of her division, there’s probably an argument to suggest that the second-best 125lber in the promotion is Katlyn Chookagian.

‘Blonde Fighter’ has won a total of eight bouts in the octagon as a flyweight, with her only clear-cut losses coming at the hands of Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade.

Along the way, she has defeated high-level opponents such as Joanne Calderwood, Jennifer Maia and Alexis Davis, largely outclassing them both on the feet and on the ground. However, the one skill ‘Blonde Fighter’ doesn’t seem to possess is the ability to finish her foes off.

Thus far into her tenure with the UFC, she’s failed to finish a single opponent, despite dominating a number of her fights.

In this instance, there’s an argument to suggest that even the step up in competition cannot be given as a reason for her lack of finishes. Even prior to arriving in the octagon, Chookagian had just three finishes to her name across seven bouts.

While her lack of finishing ability wasn’t enough to prevent her from earning a title shot in 2019, it seems that it may have caught up with her now. Despite riding a three-fight win streak, at the time of writing it’s up in the air whether the promotion will renew her contract, showing how much Dana White and company value a highlight reel.