Esteban Ribovics Stops King Green in the First Round
Esteban Ribovics stopped King Green in the first round of their lightweight fight at UFC 332. The TKO came at 4:08 on Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, and it ended a four-fight winning run for Green.
The official result was a TKO by strikes. Ribovics scored all three knockdowns. Green entered at 36-17-1 with one no contest, fighting for the 32nd time in the UFC. Ribovics came in at 16-3. He had missed weight for the bout, which the live reporting listed as a catchweight.
The finish was three left hands. The first put Green down and he got up. The second dropped him again, and referee Herb Dean stayed out of it. The third left connected with Green back on his feet, and Dean stepped in. The clock read 0:52 when the sequence ended.
Ribovics landed 41 of 79 total strikes and 35 of 71 significant strikes. Green connected on 29 of 51 total and 27 of 49 significant. Green missed his only takedown attempt. Neither man tried a submission. The three knockdowns did the rest.
There was a short exchange after the stoppage. Green said something to Ribovics, then the two cleared it and embraced. Both were smiling by the time they reached the fence.
Ribovics moved to 17-3. Green fell to 36-18-1 with one no contest.
Green had been on a run. The veteran, long known as Bobby Green, had won four straight and still carried the loose style that has kept him in featured spots into his 40s. Saturday was the first time that run met a left hand he could not walk through. He got up twice. The third shot ended the argument.
Ribovics had the cleaner recent form coming in. He stopped Edson Barboza, submitted Jeremy Stephens, and knocked out Daniel Zellhuber in the fights before this one. The missed weight was the only mark against him on the card. The left hand answered it.
No next opponent was named in the cage. A first-round stoppage of a name like Green travels farther than the scale miss. The Argentine is 17-3 and still finishing people who were supposed to be the experience in the matchup.
Green leaves Salt Lake City with the early moments and a loss that did not go to the judges. He has been here before. The question is whether the left that ended it changes the booking.
Ribovics leaves with the stoppage and the handshake that followed it. Three knockdowns, one round, and a veteran who got up twice before he stayed down. That is the clip.
