Is Esteban Ribovics the Next Big Thing in the Lightweight Division?
Last Saturday night at UFC Fight Night: Tatsuro Taira vs. HyunSung Park, Esteban Ribovics put on a Fight of the Night performance against the always tough Elves Brener. This was a three-round war with Ribovics winning most of the exchanges and landing the bigger blows throughout. After nothing short of an instant classic performance, it begs the question: Is Ribovics the next big thing in the Lightweight Division? Can he use his fan-favorite fighting style to propel himself to ranked fights shortly?
Since entering the UFC in 2023, Ribovics has gone 4-2. His first big victory was his KO of the year candidate headkick he landed against Terrance McKinney. He followed that up with a fight of the year candidate against Daniel Zellhuber at UFC Noche. He lost his next fight against Nasrat Haqparast by split decision, where he outstruck his opponent in significant strikes 147 to 135. Even though he lost the fight, it was a brawl from start to finish. His fighting style of always marching forward and his speed in throwing combinations in bunches make him a threat to anyone on the feet. He showed solid takedown defense in his fight against Brener, who is well known as a high-level grappler. His ability to keep a fight on the feet will always be exciting, with whoever he is matched up against.
Looking forward to what this victory could mean for Ribovics, I think another performance like he had warrants a ranked opponent in his next fight. He could fight someone like Joel Alvarez or Benoit Saint Denis to get himself to the back end of the rankings. Both of those fights would be incredible and brutal. The pace of those fights would make for amazing moments throughout. If Ribovic can win one of those fights, a matchup against Rafael Fiziev would be a fight of the year candidate for sure. The striking display would be off the charts, and fans would be in awe of what they witnessed. That is a fight that could main event any UFC Fight Night card.
Ribovics has put himself in a great position with banger after banger to move his way up in the Lightweight Division. The Lightweight Division has mostly older fighters past their prime and needs an infusion of young talent. He can help move the division to its next phase. Whatever Dana White and his committee decide to do with Ribovic moving forward, whoever he is scheduled to fight next, you're not going to want to miss it.
