Esteban Ribovics blames UFC 332 weight miss on hotel issue

Esteban Ribovics secured a first-round knockout victory over King Green at UFC 332, but the win came with a significant financial cost due to a weight-cutting mishap. Ribovics missed weight by 0.5 pounds on Friday, forcing the bout to be contested at catchweight and costing him 20 percent of his purse plus ineligibility for post-fight bonuses—a loss he estimates at least $25,000.

In the aftermath, Ribovics attributed the miss to unexpected circumstances at his hotel. He explained that while his team worked through their usual Thursday weight-management protocol, the facility's air conditioning was turned on during their session, causing him to stop sweating and forcing them to postpone the remainder of the cut until Friday morning. "We have to leave this for tomorrow," Ribovics recalled. "I stopped sweating because of it, so we got cold and just stopped sweating."

Tensions between Ribovics and Green had been elevated following a pre-fight confrontation involving boxer Arnold Barboza Jr., who had partnered with Green on a streaming broadcast that showcased the dispute. That friction boiled over momentarily as the fighters exchanged words after the knockout, though they reconciled shortly after. Ribovics downplayed any lingering animosity toward Green himself, attributing the tension primarily to Barboza Jr. and noting he had removed the boxer from his social media feed.

With back-to-back victories now under his belt—including a prior knockout of Edson Barboza—Ribovics appears positioned for a rankings bump in the lightweight division. However, he remained measured about his prospects, stating he prefers to let his performances speak for themselves rather than issue callouts. "After that fight against Mateusz Gamrot, things clicked in my head," Ribovics said. "If called upon, I will face anyone."