UFC 332 live blog: King Green vs. Esteban Ribovics
· Yahoo Sports
This is the UFC 332 live blog for King Green vs. Esteban Ribovics, the main card catchweight bout Saturday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
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A lifer of the MMA game, Green (36-17-1, 1 NC) competes for the 32nd time in the UFC, having won 17 times inside the octagon. The 40-year-old has experienced a surprising career resurgence, putting together four straight wins, with finishes over Terrance McKinney, Jeremy Stephens, and Daniel Zellhuber. This marks Green’s longest win streak since 2014, when he strung together eight straight between Strikeforce and UFC.
Ribovics (16-3) has seen mixed results in his eight UFC appearances, but is guaranteed excitement whenever he enters the cage. In fights against Elves Brener, Nasrat Haqparast, and Zellhuber, Ribovics earned three straight Fight of the Night bonuses. Most recently, Ribovics picked up a second-round knockout victory over the legendary Edson Barboza at UFC 330 this past August.
This bout was officially changed to a catchweight bout after Ribovics weighed in 0.5 pounds over the lightweight limit. He forfeited 20 percent of his purse as penalty.
Check out the UFC 332 live blog for King Green vs. Esteban Ribovics below.
Preamble
The immortal King Green goes for a fifth straight win tonight against the always exciting Ribovics who—booooooooooooo—missed weight for this contest. Still, this should be a good one.
Round 1
Herb Dean referees this bout.
Ribovics comes forward with a leg kick right away. Green loose as always, waiting for Ribovics to approach. Ribovics obliges, catching Green with a left across the jaw. He knees Green’s body, Green with the tie-up to change the pace. Nice step-in left by Ribovics. He’s fighting at Green’s range, but Green isn’t landing much. Superman punch from Ribovics, Green staying just at the edge of those strikes.
Green starting to get busy. He sticks a jab right in Ribovics’ face and follows with a combination. Huge left hook from Ribovics puts Green down. Green quick to get back up, but that hurt him. Another left drops Green. Dean almost had to step in there, but he’s giving Green a chance. Green back up, but another left connects and Ribovics has a third knockdown. Dean has to step in.
A little tension after as it looks like Green said something to Ribovics, but they clear it up quickly and soon the fighters are smiling and embracing. Great performance by Ribovics.
Official result: Esteban Ribovics def. King Green via first-round TKO (strikes) (4:08)
Post-fight
Ribovics apologizes for missing weight, he says it won’t happen again. He says it’s his job to “bring violence to the octagon.”
He’s not focused on an opponent right now because he’s getting married next month.