Esteban Ribovics was more than happy to put the lights out on King Green.
After a lot of trash talk and a scuffle, which made their bout arguably the most anticipated at UFC 332, Ribovics (17-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) was able to get his revenge on Green (36-18-1 MMA, 17-3-1 UFC). The Argentine dropped the UFC veteran multiple times before having referee Herb Dean separate him as he was talking down on Green. This was Ribovics' 20th professional win, and he can say this one felt better than all others.
"Yeah, you can say it's the most satisfying victory of my career because this was the first time they tried to bully me and treat me disrespectfully," Ribovics told Hablemos MMA in Spanish. "So yeah, at that moment, I was telling him like, 'Shut your mouth
or keep talking,' something like that. I don't remember."
A lot was said between Ribovics and Green ahead of UFC 332 in Salt Lake City. It all culminated with scuffle between the two teams, which was caught on Green's live stream.
"Before the ceremonial weigh-ins, Barboza Jr., he called me, and I thought we were just going to talk and say hi to each other, all good," Ribovics said. "I'm always respectful. When he gives me his hand, he got a disrespectful attitude, and he said, 'You're sacred for tomorrow,' and I said, 'Hell no, why would I be scared?' He then asked me why I missed weight and said if I wanted to get an advantage. I said, 'No, this is the first time I don't make weight. I almost died cutting the weight.'"
The two teams went their separate ways, and Barboza Jr. kept instigating from a distance, according to Ribovics. When the two teams ran into each other again before leaving to the UFC 332 ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday, things got heated, and Green ended up shoving Ribovics – something that didn't sit well with the Kill Cliff fighter.
"They were outside, and I confronted Barboza, and that's when Green stepped in and pushed me," Ribovics said. "They don't need to touch me and surrounded us with his team. That's when respect flew out the window. They tried to bully me and tried to be the bad boys. They were saying we could fight here in the streets. Come on, man. Shut up."
With this win, Ribovics is now on a two-fight winning streak with stoppages over Edson Barboza and now Green. Prior to that, Ribovics had lost to Mateusz Gamrot in a fight he took on short notice back in April. Ribovics wants to get another crack at a ranked opponent, and there are a couple of names in the top 15 that draw his interest.
"I think a good fight, a fight that could have a lot of hype, would be (Renato) Moicano, (Dan) Hooker. Those fights," Ribovics said. "(Moicano) can be a fight since there's history and people can get behind it. Moicano keeps getting away from all these guys and staying at the top. That could be a good fight. To be honest with you, I don't like calling out names. I don't like it. I don't know why. I just prefer getting a name, and hopefully it is a good one. I'd like to fight everyone. If it was up to me, I'd fight everyone at the top. It doesn't matter the order."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Esteban Ribovics: King Green KO 'most satisfying' win of my career
