Athletes
King Green | Always Focused On The Mission
Veteran Lightweight Talks Terrance McKinney, Driving Force Ahead Of UFC 329
King Green’s mission in both his personal life and professional career has always been to uplift others and do whatever he can to help them out his community. Whether that’s folks back home in California’s Inland Empire or fellow athletes on the UFC roster, the lightweight veteran with 54 fights on his resume has made it his purpose to share his knowledge and spread the wealth.
“This is the mission and how we accomplish it,” began Green, who makes his third appearance of the year on Saturday, opening up the UFC 329 main card opposite Terrance McKinney. “There is nothing else in it for me. You get a little kudos, a little pat on the back, but at the end of the day, it’s just being there for my people; that’s always been my intention.
“I just need to make sure I’ve got enough to take care of everybody.”
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The fact that Green is still competing this frequently and having this much success at the sport’s highest level is a testament to his drive and his focus to fulfill his mission.
Set to turn 40 in September, he continues to hover on the fringes of the top-15 and mix it up with others in the same position while seeking to extend his winning streak to four, which would be the longest continuous run of success he’s had since posting eight straight victories to close out his days in Strikeforce and begin his run under the UFC banner.
At a time where others from his cohort are winding down and basking in the glow of all they’ve accomplished, Green is ramping things up, having earned consecutive impressive stoppage wins this year over Daniel Zellhuber and Jeremy Stephens, and he’s not yet ready to stop and smell the roses — at least not for more than a minute or two.
“I’m trying to enjoy it as much as I can, but at the same time, you got something else in front of you, you’ve got another something in front of you, so just when you try to enjoy it, there’s more work to be done,” he said wistfully. “There’s somebody in front of your face that you’ve gotta go knock out, and so I wish I could enjoy it, but I’m like, ‘Hey — me and him right now.’ Maybe I can sit back after this — I always be in the shower like, ‘Thank you, God for this gift.’ It doesn’t hit me until then, but then I’m like, ‘Okay, this is all happening,’ but up until that point, I’m so locked in on what we gotta do.
Joe Rogan Interviews Conor McGregor And Max Holloway Ahead Of UFC 329
“I’ve got such a busy life that I don’t get to enjoy any of this, brother; I’m so spread thin,” he added, his signature snicker pushing out between his teeth. “As soon as I’m home, I’ve got kids missing me because I’ve been in camp. Catching up with my kids, that’s supposed to be a relaxing moment, but then I’ve got three baby mamas and what they want from me; a girlfriend; all the other prior engagements. I’ve got a club I’ve got to run, so it’s back to work at the club because you haven’t been around and people are stealing money.
Green shook his head and smiled.
“There’s never a dull moment,” he added. “I’m always busy. I’m always drained. I’m always running, but that just comes with this s***.”
Despite everything pulling him in different directions and keeping him constantly on the go, Green always turns up locked in and ready to go, and this weekend in Las Vegas, he has a little additional motivation propelling him into the Octagon.
The pairing with McKinney is an explosive one on paper — a matchup between the perpetual showman Green and the ever-explosive McKinney, who has never been to the scorecards in his 26-fight career, with 11 of his 13 UFC appearances ending in the opening frame. But there are tensions between the two — or at least there are on Green’s side, as the divisional stalwart has taken umbrage to the Spokane, Washington native being ready to face him.
“He’s supposed to be the homie and s***,” Green said. “I’m sorry to say it, but there aren’t too many Black guys in the sport, so when there is one, I’m like, ‘Hey, come here.’ I remember meeting Terrance the first time he came into the UFC, put my arm around his shoulder and told him like, ‘Listen, don’t do this, be careful with this; make sure you work, and you’re out there challenging yourself, taking every fight they give you because if not, they’ll put you on ice.’ I was giving him the game, you know?
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“I’ve always tried to be good with all the Black fighters, and he’s one of them because there’s so many opportunities to be other places. He hit me up like, ‘Hey, they want me to fight you,’ and I was like, ‘What? Why do you wanna fight me? I thought we were friends? What’s going on with that?’
“I feel like this shine that you’re talking about with the UFC getting behind me, now it’s like, ‘I gotta take that guy’s spot and be the Black guy.’” continued Green. “But you don’t know how hard I worked to get here. You still got a whole bunch of time; you’ve only been here like three years. I’ve been here 14. Put your time in and go earn your way, earn your own stuff. Why you wanna s*** on your friend and try to shut me out?”
Green shook his head, pausing before continuing to detail the situation.
“He was like, ‘Okay, I’m not gonna do it.’ He called me back a week later like, ‘They’re offering me the fight,’ and I was like, ‘Okay m*****f*****; I told you what’s up, but now I feel like you’re playing with me. I feel like you think I’m an easy fight.’
“I think he just wants to swing on Conor McGregor’s ***** and say he was on a Conor McGregor card,” he added. “But it’s like, ‘You’re gonna do that to jeopardize our friendship? Jeopardize your legacy or my legacy?’
“It’s not that big of a deal to me. I’d rather not take him down, stop what he’s got going.”
Animosity and frustrations aside, Green doesn’t have any significant concerns or changes that needed to be made in advance of sharing the Octagon with the “all gas, no breaks” McKinney, trusting that his skills and savvy will continue being enough to keep him moving forward.
“No — it’s just whether we set the right traps, and there are going to be a lot of traps; don’t fall in a hole,” he said with a smirk when asked about McKinney’s approach. “Just set the traps and be ready.
“Skills pay the bills, baby; skills pay the bills,” he added. “(It’s all about) showing that I’m sharp and I’m here to stay because of the skills I’ve learned in this game.”
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And once it’s over, he’ll take a moment in the shower to appreciate another trip into the Octagon and hopefully another victory before heading home to start handling business there again, further delaying his reflective moments for another time.
“It’s a blessing, but I think it’ll come to me when I’m done,” Green said, reiterating his position on taking it all in at a later date. “I think I’m still fighting with Jim Miller and once I beat him, I’ll be like, ‘Alright, I did it.’”
He laughed, having taken another playful jab at the man he beat at UFC 300 who holds the record for the most wins and fights in UFC history, marks that would require Green to keep fighting for several more years in order to have a shot at catching him.
“If I keep it going how I’ve been going, I’ll catch his ***.” he added, snickering. “If I keep rolling them up like I’ve been doing, I’ll catch up to you, m*****f*****.”
Given the drive he’s shown over the last 19 years and the commitment he has to his mission, I honestly wouldn’t put it passed him at this point.
UFC 329: McGregor vs Holloway 2 took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 11, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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