Does Bobby Green have a history of eye pokes/similar incidents? Breaking down Tony Ferguson's accusations at 'King'

Tony Ferguson is furious at Bobby Green for poking him in the eye at UFC 291. ‘El Cucuy’ entered the octagon against ‘King Green’ in hopes of snapping a five-fight losing skid. He started out strong and dropped Bobby Green in the first round. However, an unfortunate eye poke from Green visibly affected the 38-year-old fighter. Ferguson ended up losing the fight via third-round submission.

‘El Cucuy’ took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the fight and stated that it was difficult for him to see clearly after the eye pokeb, ut did not consider stopping the fight. He claimed that Bobby Green has a history of fouls and may have decided to poke him intentionally after being put in a difficult situation in the early going of the fight.

“Bobby knew the direction of the fight & I believe he knew what he was doing when he🫵poked my👁️eye. He has a big History of moves like this 🎓 It significantly impaired my vision, making it difficult to see clearly out of my eye. Despite this eye poke I never considered stopping the fight 👎 Although the👨‍⚕️doc wanted too…” Tony Ferguson wrote in the caption of his post.

Bobby Green received a lot of hate online for poking Tony Ferguson in the eye during this fight. Fans posted an old video of Green’s controversial TKO win over James Krause at UFC: Fight for the Troops 3 to label him as a habitual cheater. But is that really the case?

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A look at the history of fouls in Bobby Green’s fights

Unfortunately, Bobby Green has been involved in fights in which the illegal strikes have dramatically altered the outcome. Before stepping inside the cage with Tony Ferguson, Green fought Jared Gordon in April 2023. The fight ended in the first round as a headbutt instantly knocked out Gordon, causing the fight to end in a no-contest.

The infamous James Krause fight is another incident where repeated groin kicks led to Bobby Green losing a point on the scorecards. However, a third kick on Krause’s belt line caused him to get knocked down. Referee John McCarthy deemed it to be a legal strike and awarded a TKO win to Green. It remains one of the most controversial endings in UFC history to this day.

A look at the 36-year-old's track record in the UFC shows that there have been instances of eye pokes and groin shots in his fights against fighters like Nasrat Haqparast and Lando Vannata, to name a few. However, such instances are fairly common in the UFC and there isn’t sufficient proof to believe that Green has a tendency to foul on purpose to change the direction of his fights.

'King' has been on the receiving end of some serious fouls as well. In his fight against Lando Vannata at UFC 216, Green ate a flush knee to his head while he was grounded. This resulted in referee Herb Dean deducting a point from Vannata. This deduction loomed large on the scorecards, resulting in the fight ending in a split draw.