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Ahead of his fight with King Green, Esteban Ribovics reflects on his journey from Argentina to the UFC and the ambition to turning his name into a legacy.
Esteban Ribovics. (AFP Photo)
Esteban Ribovics has never viewed fighting simply as a profession. For the Argentine lightweight, the sport is closely tied to the loss of his father, the support of his mother, and the difficult years he endured while trying to build a career in mixed martial arts. Now, as he prepares to face King Green at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, Ribovics is looking to continue a journey that he believes has already transformed his life.
Ribovics started training as a child after his father died, a period he believes played a defining role in shaping the fighter he eventually became.
“The fighter I became was definitely born out of that moment. I think that’s where I took the guts and strength to get up and do what I do. Every time I get up there, I feel that he’s very present with me in every fight,” Ribovics tells News18 Sports.
His mother was initially opposed to her son pursuing a career in fighting, but eventually became one of his biggest supporters. Ribovics says her decision to back him was a leap of faith that helped make his career possible.
“My mum is everything to me. She was initially obviously resistant to it, but then she started to give me all the support. She basically just came to support me with, I would say, closed eyes. She took a leap of faith with her son. She’s very proud of her son, and I’m very happy to have her as a mother. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her, and she supports me with every fight,” he said.
Ribovics understood from the beginning that earning a UFC contract would not represent the end of the journey. Staying there, he knew, would be the greater challenge.
“I knew from the beginning that, as hard as it can be to stay in the UFC, that’s the real challenge. I knew that from the start, just like you mentioned. But if you’re talking about something that I didn’t understand before, I didn’t know the size of the organisation and how much goes into it, how many people are behind it, and everything that is behind what we do. I had no idea. After I came in, I realised how big this organisation is. But it was very clear to me that coming in was one thing, while staying and maintaining was the hard part,” he said.
The road to establishing himself in the UFC though was not straightforward, and the work that went behind achieving the dream was worth it.
“If I look back and think about the person I was, and the things I was doing in the past, I would just have a lot of pride and understand that the work was worth it. I feel proud of what I’ve accomplished, proud of everyone around me, and proud of myself. Everyone who has been around me and supported me throughout this journey made it all worth it, even though it was difficult and some things may have been tough,” he said.
At UFC 330 in Philadelphia, Ribovics stopped veteran Brazilian Edson Barboza in the second round.
Ribovics deliberately refused to allow the fight to settle into the range where his opponent’s kicking game could become a major factor. The strategy was not accidental, and the Argentine says the plan developed during preparation was executed as intended.
“Yes, the plan actually came true. There were many things that were planned for the fight. There was a lot of strategy going into it, and we studied everything we needed to do. The plan became a reality, and we put it into practice,” he said.
His next opponent presents a different challenge. Green is a veteran lightweight with a record that includes victories by knockout, submission, and decision, and he enters the contest after a second-round TKO victory over Daniel Zellhuber in February and a win over Terrance McKinney in July.
Ribovics is less interested in extending the fight than in ending it.
“I think this is a very entertaining fight, but I want to make it as fast as possible. That’s the plan—to finish this as early as possible, get the job done, and leave unscathed, clean, and 100% back at home,” he said.
Ribovics has built much of his reputation around his striking, but he does not see himself as a one-dimensional fighter.
He believes his development on the ground has added another dimension to his game.
“No, there’s more there. If you look at some of my fights, like my fight with Loïc, I was able to come out of very difficult situations. I also sparred with a black belt and fared well. It might not have been the same against Gamrot because that’s the level we’re at. But what I’ll tell you is that the game has improved. There’s much more there, and the game has improved a lot. I’ve improved my ground game a lot lately,” he said.
The aggressive style remains central to Ribovics’ identity, even as he tries to become a more measured fighter.
“I mean, I try to be a smarter, more patient, calmer fighter. But when that door closes and when that buzzer sounds, something takes over. I become someone else. I become a beast, and I really go for the finish,” he said.
The defeats have also played an important role in Ribovics’ development.
The Mateusz Gamrot fight was particularly significant because it marked the first submission loss of Ribovics’ career, something he says changed his approach to fighting and training.
“The fight against Gamrot, obviously. It’s not just the loss, but it was the first time I tapped in my career, and I think that one changed me. It changed the way I see things, the way I approach things, and the way I train,” he said.
Away from the UFC, Ribovics’ life is centred on his family and doing activities that give him a connection with his late father.
“As much as I can, when I’m not fighting, I spend as much time with my family and my life as possible. As far as becoming a father, she’s out there—you can hear her. She’s right here. And going back and doing some enduro riding with my brother is what brings us close and brings us closer to our father. So, yeah, we keep on doing those things,” he said.
Those connections are part of what Ribovics wants to carry with him as his career develops. The ambitions he has for his name extend beyond his record inside the Octagon, with the Argentine wanting his name to become something that represents more than an MMA fighter.
“Something bigger than me. This is something huge. I want people to listen and hear the name Ribovics. It goes beyond MMA, and I want people to understand it. It’s a legacy that I want to leave. I want people to, when they hear Ribovics, understand what that means. That’s what it will mean for MMA, and I’ve been working really hard for that to become true,” he said.
Watch UFC 332 – Silva vs. Wang, on Sunday, 4th October 2026, from IST 5.30 AM live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada) and Sony LIV.
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Ask News18Esteban Ribovics is scheduled to face veteran lightweight King Green at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City.
Ask News18About the Author
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience …Read More
October 03, 2026, 09:00 IST
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