King Green Says He Wanted to Continue After Ribovics TKO
King Green said he was still fine when referee Herb Dean stopped his lightweight fight with Esteban Ribovics at 4:08 of the first round.
Ribovics won by TKO on punches Saturday at UFC 332 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Green answered later in a video, bruised under both eyes, and said the stoppage came after he had already told Dean where the fight was headed.
“I told Herb, this is gonna get sticky, let me go on my shield,” Green said. “I was still fine, I wanted still to keep fighting, I felt like we were getting somewhere, but it was a great fight.”
Dean stepped in after Ribovics dropped Green for the third time. Green landed 27 of 49 significant strikes. Ribovics landed 35 of 71 and was credited with all three knockdowns.
Green did not argue the result in the video. He argued the timing.
“Man, great fight, sh*t happens,” he said. “I told myself, regardless or not, I’m not gonna be mad at myself, but I’m a little mad.”
Ribovics is 17-3 after the win. He missed weight by half a pound on Friday, so the bout went ahead as a catchweight, and the miss did not slow the start.
The Argentine came forward with leg kicks and left hooks and put Green down early. Green got back to his feet, ate another clean shot, and was dropped again before the referee waved it off.
Green is 36-18-1 with one no contest. The loss snapped a four-fight run that dated to December 2025 and put a veteran who has spent years in action fights on the wrong side of a first-round stoppage.
Ribovics is 30. He is coming off a knockout of Edson Barboza in August at UFC 330, so the Green finish is a second straight stoppage win.
Green used the video to thank the crowd before he talked about a return. He pointed at the camera, said he was fine, and sounded closer to the next booking than to a long layoff.
“Shout out to everybody that supported, everybody that was cheering me on,” Green said. “I love you guys, I’m fine, I’m great. I feel like I’m gonna fight next f*cking week, you know what I mean?”
No next opponent has been announced for either man. Green closed by repeating the thanks and putting a date on the comeback only in the broadest terms.
“I love you guys, and I will be back very soon,” he said.
The stoppage leaves two different reads of the same round. Ribovics connected often enough to score three knockdowns in just over four minutes. Green left the cage insisting he was still in the fight and that he had asked Dean to let him finish it on his feet.
That is the part he wanted on record. The official result is a first-round TKO. Green’s account is that he saw the fight getting sticky, told the referee to let him go on his shield, and still felt he was getting somewhere when it ended.
UFC 332 was headlined by Jean Silva against Yizha Wang. The Green fight sat on the main card and produced the kind of early finish that usually moves a young lightweight up the list.
Ribovics has that finish. Green has the video, the swelling, and a public promise that the next one will not take long. Neither side has a date attached to that promise yet.
