Bobby Green challenges peers to step up for UFC on ESPN 52: 'I want to see who's gangster like me'

UFC lightweight Bobby Green wants one of his peers to prove they’re “gangster” by stepping up on short notice for a showdown in Texas.

Eleven days before Green (31-14-1 MMA, 12-9-1 UFC) was scheduled to compete at UFC on ESPN 52 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, his opponent Dan Hooker (23-12 MMA, 13-8 UFC) was revealed to be injured and out of their five-round co-main event bout. The event is headlined by a lightweight bout between Beneil Dariush and Arman Tsarukyan.

Green is now hoping someone will step up on short notice to fill the void, as he has done himself many times throughout his career.

“I want to see who’s gangster like me,” Green said in a video posted to his Instagram Stories. I fought on 10 days’ notice. I went on two weeks’ notice. I done made weight, passed the f*ck out, my lungs collapsed and everything on two weeks’ notice. I done did it all.

“Let me see who gangster like me. I guarantee don’t nobody step up. Let’s find out.”

The sources told MMA Junkie the UFC is actively seeking a replacement for Hooker. A number of Green’s peers have made their voices heard after the news broke. Former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, who now lives in Austin, wrote on X that he would be up for a fight in his backyard at 165 pounds or 170.

Jared Gordon faced Green in April in a main card bout that resulted in a no contest after a clash of heads. Gordon, who just fought less than two weeks ago at UFC 295, simply stated “Run it back” on X.

Terrance McKinney also threw his name in the hat of potential short-notice replacements by stating on X that it “would be a honor to throw down” with Green.