By Elias Cepeda

Even as a young man, Desmond Green knew he wanted to test his physical limits. Growing up in Upstate New York, Green had plenty of opportunities to develop his budding passion for combat sports.
 
Unfortunately, adolescent insecurities sometimes played into Green's sporting life. Take, for example, Green's brief stint playing lacrosse during high school.
 
"It was actually one of the most fun sports I did but just because of the preppy [reputation] my friends [made fun of me] so that kind of shied me away from it," Green (19-5) recently told the Extra Rounds podcast ahead of his UFC 210 fight against Josh Emmett (11-0) in Buffalo, NY, on Saturday.
 
"I was the only black guy on the lacrosse team. I was already getting stuff from my friends about wrestling, because I was the only black guy on the wrestling team, too. You know, in high school sometimes you care more about what your friends think. So I was like, 'All right, one of these sports has got to go.' (laughs) I was better at wrestling, so I stuck with wrestling."
 
After experimenting successfully with lacrosse for two years, Green decided to focus his athletic career on wrestling. He continued along that path quite successfully in college as well, but grappling alone was never the warrior's end goal.
 
"I wasn't one of those guys where wrestling was life. It was just more something I was good at," he explained.
 
"I always knew I wanted to fight. That was my ultimate goal. I was just grateful for the time I did put in on the mat, because I knew it made me a better fighter."
 
The 27-year-old is one of a new breed of MMA fighters that grew up knowing it wanted to mix things up in the cage. Previous generations of fighters largely picked up MMA as second combat sport careers after spending lifetimes in specific styles such as wrestling, kickboxing, or Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
 
A guy like Green always knew he was about fighting. He enjoyed hard-hitting sports like lacrosse and wrestling, but "The Predator" longed for the freedom of mixed martial arts competition.
 
"I love combat sports. Growing up I did wrestling, football, and lacrosse. I'm just a real physical guy. I love combat. I always thought that wrestling was cool but it just restricts you," he said.
 
"You can't go out there and release that full savage. Fighting really is the best sport to determine who is the best physical person out there. That's what always intrigued me about it. I'm real competitive, and I always wanted to know how far could I go against people in full-out combat. That's what keeps driving me now."
 
Green is plenty driven these days. He's built an impressive MMA record over the past 5 1/2 years in promotions such as TitanFC and Bellator and is currently riding a four-fight win streak.
 
Recently, he finally got the call he'd been waiting for -- from the UFC to make his promotional debut. Not only that, Green learned he would be getting the chance to fight close to home at UFC 210 in Buffalo.

"It's like a dream come true. I've been waiting so long to fight in the UFC, and now I get to fight basically in my hometown. Buffalo is an hour away from my hometown. I went to college in Buffalo, so I've got tons of support there. I'm just excited to be able to fight at home," he said.
 
"I didn't know when [I'd get the call from the UFC], but I always said, '2017 is the year I am going to get into the UFC.' I had a feeling, especially after me going undefeated last year. I was like, 'It's going to come this year,' I just didn't know exactly when."