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If there鈥檚 no such thing as a must-win situation, Maurice Greene鈥檚 MMA fight on Friday qualifies as a reasonable facsimile.

If he can beat Brazil鈥檚 Renan Ferreira on a Professional Fighters League card at New York鈥檚 Madison Square Garden, he鈥檒l advance to the final of a PFL heavyweight tournament and the possibility of a $1 million payday.

If he loses, well, kiss it goodbye.

Nervous? Not at all, at least judging from Greene鈥檚 Zoom interview on Wednesday.

Girded physically and mentally by his preparation under the watchful eye of his friend and mentor Jon Jones, he鈥檒l take what comes.

Greene, who lives in sa国际传媒官网网页入口, crochets as a hobby and fights people for a living, entertained as well as informed throughout the 18-minute interview.

鈥淭he Crochet Boss,鈥� has engaged in considerable trash talk last week in an apparent attempt to get in Ferreira鈥檚 head. He was asked how important the mental game is when two ultra-physical, 250-pound-plus men collide.

鈥淵ou know, I鈥檝e mentally defeated myself sometimes before I even got to the cage,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut everybody鈥檚 different and everybody鈥檚 process is a little different.鈥�

Through his work with Jones, Greene said, he鈥檇 spent some time with Olympic wrestling gold medalist and two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo.

鈥淗enry kind of let us know it鈥檚 mental warfare,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 mental warfare before the fight.

鈥淢aybe (trash talk) gets (Ferreira) off his game a little bit. Maybe it won鈥檛. But I鈥檓 gonna do it.鈥�

Greene qualified for Friday鈥檚 semifinal only because Marcelo Nunes was ruled out due to injury. Greene, who鈥檇 been an alternate after losing to Ante Delija in his previous PFL fight, said he鈥檇 mentally prepared himself to step in.

鈥淚鈥檇 gotten right back to camp, even though I鈥檇 lost my last fight and I was out,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 had the idea that 鈥榮omething鈥檚 gonna happen, Maurice, and you鈥檙e gonna get your opportunity to come back.鈥�

鈥淪o I treated it like that, and when I got the call it was business as usual.鈥�

Greene, a Virginia native with Midwestern roots, earned a UFC contract through his participation on The Ultimate Fighter 28 in 2018. He won his first three UFC fights, but four losses in his next five fights cost him that contract.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 ready for the opportunity I had when I was in the UFC,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen the competition got tough and it was time to really step up and train harder and harder 鈥� (I did) what most fighters do. You get a little bit soft and start thinking you鈥檙e the man.鈥�

Greene had come to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 in 2020 to train at Jackson-Wink. There he formed a friendship and working relationship with Jones, the longtime UFC light heavyweight champion and an enduring presence at sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 most successful MMA gym.

Then, in September 2021, Jones was arrested on domestic-violence charges in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jackson-Wink co-founder Mike Winkeljohn responded by banning Jones from the gym, a decision not intended to be permanent. But Jones, angered by Winkeljohn鈥檚 move, chose not to return.

Shortly thereafter, Greene left Jackson-Wink and began training with Jones.

His work with Jones, he said, 鈥渒ind of reignited that flame, kind of like seeing the process of not just a world champion but the process of the GOAT, the greatest MMA fighter to ever do this.鈥�

Greene said he sees Jones less as a coach and an advisor but simply as the training partner he鈥檚 always been.

鈥淲e started this process training together,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e still train together 鈥� We鈥檙e training partners. I do most things with Jon.鈥�

Greene has no ongoing relationship with Jackson-Wink, despite some reports to the contrary, and said he wanted to make that clear.

鈥淭ell everybody this,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why everybody thinks I still train at Jackson-Wink.

鈥淚 parted ways with Jackson-Wink around (the time) that whole thing happened with Jon, for my own personal reasons.鈥�

As of Wednesday, Greene (11-8) was a massive underdog against Ferreira (10-3) at +475, meaning a bet of $100 on Greene would produce a payout of $475. Ferreira was at -600, meaning a bet of $600 on the Brazilian would pay $100.